| | - Based on the results of the 2001 National Health Survey, 9.7 million Australians or 51% of the population had at least one sight problem.
- Vision impairment and blindness are among the major causes of disability.
- Approximately 116,000 people present to hospitals or their doctor each year with unintentional eye injuries.
- Prevention of avoidable childhood blindness is particularly important, because of the severity of implications for child development.
- After the age of 40 the amount of visual impairment and blindness increases threefold with each decade of age.
- The World Health Organisation estimates that 80% of blindness around the world is preventable or treatable.
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