Vision, the most dominant of our senses, plays a critical role in every facet and stage of our lives. We take vision for granted, but without vision, we struggle to learn, to walk, to read, to participate in school and to work.

Vision impairment occurs when an eye condition affects the visual system and its vision functions. Everyone, if they live long enough, will experience at least one eye condition in their lifetime that will require appropriate care.

Vision impairment has serious consequences for the individual across the life course. Many of these consequences can be mitigated by timely access to quality eye care. Eye conditions that can cause vision impairment and blindness – such as cataract or refractive error – are, for good reasons, the main focus of eye care strategies.

In the UK, more than 2 million people are living with sight loss. Of these, around 340,000 are registered as blind or partially sighted. In Ireland, There are an estimated 272,000 people who are blind or visually impaired.

This can vary from being able to distinguish between light and dark, to seeing large objects and shapes, to seeing everything but as a blur, or seeing a patchwork of blanks and defined areas. Vision impairment is a term used to describe all levels of sight loss. It covers moderate sight loss, severe sight loss and blindness.

Being told you have a visual impairment that can't be treated can be difficult to come to terms with. Some people go through a process similar to bereavement, where they experience a range of emotions including shock, anger, and denial, before eventually coming to accept their condition.