Asia PR News

TORONTO, July 27 /CNW-AsiaNet/ –

Archbishop Tutu will launch a global campaign against treatable blindness
when he visits Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa on August 8th
where he is also expected to address the vicious cycle of poverty and
disability.

"Poverty is difficult to survive," says Archbishop Tutu, "but poverty
with disability is almost impossible to survive."

Brendan Bergin, New Zealand Director of Christian Blind Mission
International (CBMI), a development organisation that provides essential
funding to the hospital adds, "We are very excited by the fact that Archbishop
Tutu is endorsing CBMI’s worldwide ‘100,000 Miracles’ campaign which aims to
provide 100,000 sight restoring, life changing cataract operations in 100
days."

CBMI plays a vital role in rescuing and restoring the lives of people
trapped in poverty by providing services to more than 12 million people - the
poorest of the poor living with disabilities - in more than 1,000 projects in
113 countries regardless of nationality, gender or religion.

Globally, an estimated 600 million people are living with a disability.
Of these, 80% live in countries plagued by poverty with little or no access to
health and rehabilitation services.

According to the World Health Organization, the number of families
affected by poverty is steadily increasing due to chronic diseases, birth
defects, AIDS, malnutrition and other poverty-related causes. Yet many
countries exclude disabilities from public health and social policies that
could protect and support these forgotten people.

"We will not even come near to meeting Millennium Development Goals if
government leaders fail to deal with disability issues among the poorest of
the poor," says Mr. Bergin.

One of The MDGs goals, set for 2015, is to eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger. Currently, half the people in the world live on less than $2 a day.
There are 17 million people blinded by cataracts around the world and CBMI is
leading the global war on preventable blindness.

For further information: Brendan Bergin, National Director, Christian
Blind Mission International (New Zealand), Ph: +64 9 522 0902, Fax: +64 9 552
0923, bbergin(at)cbmi.org.nz

SOURCE: Christian Blind Mission International