Blindness Awareness Month

WHEREAS, more than two-thirds of visually impaired adults in the United States are over 65 years of age and the prevalence of blindness increases rapidly in later years, particularly after age 75; and

WHEREAS, nearly 20.5 million Americans age 40 and older are afflicted with cataracts, which is the leading cause of blindness in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the number of Americans with age-related eye disease is expected to double within the next three decades, according to Eye Care America, which is the public service foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology; and

WHEREAS, approximately 37 million people are blind and 124 million severely visually impaired worldwide, and it is estimated that a child goes blind every minute; and

WHEREAS, the World Health Organization estimates that 75 percent of all blindness can be treated, cured or prevented by highly cost-effective means:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim October 2011, as

Blindness Awareness Month

in the State of the Alabama,

in  recognition of the need to educate citizens about the prevention and treatment of blindness.  I encourage the citizens of this State to take the necessary precautions to prevent the causes of blindness and assist those who are affected by it.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 30th day of September 2011.

 

                                                                                 Governor Robert Bentley