Sight for Kids is a vision screening and eye health education program directed at children and their parents and teachers. The screenings to date have uncovered an estimated 30,000 children in South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong and MD 300 Taiwan with an eye disease or potential for one. These children will be referred for follow-up eye exams and care.

Johnson & Johnson has committed up to US$745,000 over several years for the Sight for Kids program. Beginning in 2004, when the program is extended to India and China, more than a million children are expected to be screened annually.

Myopia (nearsightedness) is a major problem in Asia. More than 15 percent of children under the age of 15 in some Asian nations there have significant vision impairment. Half of all cases of refractive error (nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism) remain undetected and uncorrected.

Sight for Kids has been highly efficient. In Korea, for example, it has reached approximately 50 percent of preschoolers. In addition, the referral rates have been shown to be consistent with the expected prevalence for the target populations. This has been accomplished at a cost of approximately US$0.55 per child.

Sight for Kids has brought together thousands of Lions and hundreds of Johnson & Johnson personnel to participate directly in the community-based and school-based screening campaigns. More than 500 teachers, nurses, and Lions have been trained to do the screenings. Lions in each of the four Phase I countries also have formed major partnerships with leading medical, educational, and non-profit organizations to advance the program.

Sight for Kids is a public health outreach arm of the Project for the Elimination of Childhood Blindness, an initiative of LCIF and the World Health Organization.