• The United Nations observes World Braille Day on January 4.

• According to World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, around 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment.

• The day is observed to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realisation of human rights for blind and partially sighted people.

• World Braille Day was established by the UN General Assembly in December 2018.

What is Braille?

• Braille is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six embossed dots to represent each letter and number, and even musical, mathematical and scientific symbols. 

• Braille (named after its inventor in 19th century France, Louis Braille) is used by blind and partially sighted people to read the same books and periodicals as those printed in a visual font. 

• Braille can be written using a Braillewriter, a device similar to a typewriter, or by using a pointed stylus and a Braille Slate to punch dots on paper. 

• World Braille Day commemorates the birthday of Louis Braille. He was born on January 4, 1809. Having become blind after a childhood accident, at age 15, Louis Braille created the eponymous system we know today.

• It has been tweaked over the years and as early as 1949, the UNESCO took the initiative to promote a survey of problems aimed at establishing Braille uniformity.

• The 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which has advanced the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities, considers Braille essential for education, freedom of expression and opinion, access to information and social inclusion.

Blindness and vision impairment

• Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. 

• In at least one billion of these cases, vision impairment could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed. 

• And of those with unaddressed vision impairment or blindness, 90 per cent live in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). 

• There is a strong economic, as well as health, rationale for increasing the coverage of eye care interventions. The annual global productivity losses associated with unaddressed vision impairment are estimated to be $410.7 billion.

Causes

Globally, the leading causes of vision impairment and blindness are:

i) Refractive errors

ii) Cataract

iii) Diabetic retinopathy

iv) Glaucoma

v) Age-related macular degeneration.

• There is substantial variation in the causes of vision impairment between and within countries according to the availability of eye care services, their affordability, and the education of the population. 

• For example, the proportion of vision impairment attributable to unoperated cataract is higher in low and middle-income countries. In high income countries, diseases such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration are more common.

• Among children, congenital cataract is a leading cause of vision impairment in low-income countries, whereas in middle-income countries it is more likely to be retinopathy of prematurity.

• Uncorrected refractive error remains a leading cause of vision impairment in all countries amongst children and adult populations.

Personal impact

• Young children with early onset irreversible severe vision impairment can experience delayed motor, language, emotional, social and cognitive development, with lifelong consequences. School-age children with vision impairment can also experience lower levels of educational achievement.

• Vision impairment severely impacts quality of life among adult populations. Adults with vision impairment can experience lower rates of employment and higher rates of depression and anxiety.

• In the case of older adults, vision impairment can contribute to social isolation, difficulty walking, a higher risk of falls and fractures, and a greater likelihood of early entry into nursing or care homes.

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