There are 20 million children and adults blind for life – for the lack of a $300 operation.
Meanwhile, millions more are itching to spend $300 on the new iPhone 6… To have one inch more screen than the iPhone 5 already in their pocket.
Blindness Is an Epidemic in the Developing World
Blindness is rare in developed countries but is 500% more prevalent in the developing world and it can strike at any age.
And the pain and suffering caused by blindness has huge implications. In a developing country, when a 35-year-old farmer goes blind, he loses his farm, all of his income and his family becomes beggars.
When a 25-year-old mother goes blind, she loses her marriage and her children. Blindness hurts women much more than it hurts men. And when a child goes blind, they lose everything. The chance to go to school, to get a job, to lead any kind of a normal life.
For many children, blindness can be a death sentence. The WHO reports that 60% of children die within 1-2 years of going blind.
It Doesn’t Have to be This Way
The saddest part of this massive blindness problem is that most of this pain and suffering is completely unnecessary.
Half of the blind children and adults in the world could have their eyesight restored through a simple, 15-minute surgery that costs as little as $300.
The problem is, for the poorest people in the world, who live on $1 a day, they could never afford to pay for a $300 surgery. So they will remain blind for the rest of their lives – unless someone helps them.
And thanks to 20/20/20 this is your chance to be that someone.