Mission
Promote effective measures for the preservation of sight and for the education and training, rehabilitation, employment and well being, and to do all things to facilitate the integration of persons with blindness or visual impairments in the societies of the countries and territories of its Member Agencies/Organizations.
Purpose
Preventing blindness & visual impairment; while restoring sight and creating opportunities for persons whose sight cannot be restored.
Our goal
A Caribbean, fully compliant with the objectives of: Vision 2020 (The right to Sight), Education for all children with blindness & visual impairments (EFA) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Broad Objectives
Our principal objectives are to:
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Prevent avoidable blindness and visual impairments.
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Help persons who are blind or visually impaired have their sight restored.
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Advocate for universal access to inclusive education by children who are blind or visually impaired.
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Lobby for universal access to: counseling and adjustment to blindness services by all persons who are blind and requiring such services.
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Promotion of the rights of persons who are blind or visually impaired to: vocational and tertiary level training; gainful employment; unemployment or pension benefits and inclusive recreational activities.
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Continuous improvement in the institutional capabilities of our members.
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The use of all available media systems to advance public awareness and material support for these objectives.
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The acquisition of financial and other resources to support our work.
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The advancement of social investment practices, as a means of achieving financial sustainability for the: Mission, purpose and goal of CCB-Eye Care Caribbean.
Launch of V2020 in the Caribbean:
Vision 2020: The Right to Sight is a global partnership involving a number of International Eye Care Agencies, and led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) with the aim to reduce the main causes of avoidable blindness by the year 2020. The initiative was launched in the Caribbean in July of 2000. For the region, the five (5) Vision 2020 priority diseases are: Cataract, Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy; Conditions which cause blindness or visual impairment in children; Refractive Error, Low Vision & Education & adjustment services.
The first regional strategy for the attainment of Vision 2020 objectives in the Caribbean was developed by the Council (with technical assistance from PAHO-WHO). The strategic plan ran from 2003 to Dec 2008. A new plan is currently being evolved, to be based on new national v2020 plans, as approved by participating countries in the Caribbean.
