SightFirst was launched by Lions in 1989 to battle preventable blindness. Sadly, 80 percent of the world’s blind were needlessly without sight. It was estimated that by 1990 some 20 million individuals would have lost their sight to preventable blindness.  That number was expected to grow to over 60 million by 2005.

SightFirst grants fight preventable and reversible blindness by building hospitals and clinics, training doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, distributing medicine and raising awareness of eye disease. The program fights the major causes of blindness: cataract, river blindness, trachoma, and, especially in developed nations like the United States, diabetic eye disease and glaucoma. Through SightFirst, Lions have prevented blindness by supporting cataract surgeries, helping to build or expand eye hospitals and clinics, distributing sight-saving medication and training eye care professionals.

SightFirst is especially helping children. In partnership with the World Health Organization, SightFirst has launched the world’s first-ever global initiative to combat childhood blindness. The project has created 34 centers for pediatric eye care around the world.

SightFirst is Lions’ most ambitious and most successful initiative ever.  SightFirst has:

• Prevented serious vision loss for 30 million
• Provided 127.5 million treatments for river blindness
• Awarded US$179 million for 739 projects in 88 countries
• Restored sight to 7.5 million with cataracts
• Improved eye care services for hundreds of millions
• Built or expanded 300 eye hospitals and clinics
• Upgraded 372 eye centers with equipment
• Trained 345,000 ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses, other professional eye care workers
• Launched world's first-ever initiative to combat childhood blindness in partnership with the World Health Organization. 34 pediatric eye care centers have been established, impacting the lives of 100 million children.

But we are not done.  It’s a stark fact. By the time you finish reading this page, one child somewhere in the world will have gone blind. One child goes blind every minute. Half-a-million will have lost their sight by the end of the year.

Childhood blindness is only one part of the global vision crisis. If nothing is done, experts say that the world’s blind population could double from 37 million to 74 million by 2020.  It costs just $6 to save one person from unnecessary blindness.