Nearly 1 million in KSA are visually impaired

Nearly 1 million people in Saudi Arabia have visual impairment, said Mohammad Tawfiq Blu, secretary general of Ebsar Foundation for the rehabilitation of the visually impaired.
He told Arab News that 75 percent are completely blind while the remaining 25 percent suffer from acute vision impairment, partial vision loss, or an ailment of the retina. But all individuals are classified as having a visual impairment.
The highest numbers of the visually impaired are found in Riyadh, with 30 percent of the total number of the visually impaired in the Kingdom, followed by the Eastern and the Western provinces.
Blu said these high rates are due to Riyadh’s large population, explaining the presence of many hospitals that specialize in treating and rehabilitating the visually impaired, in addition to the large number of charitable foundations that offer its services to the visually impaired.
They still have a remaining vision percentage that enables them to carry out some tasks like reading large characters and distinguishing large objects, as well as telling dark from light.
Those who have visual impairment can be employed in performing certain tasks depending on the degree of vision loss; however the degree of performance depends upon the community’s acceptance of the visually impaired, he said.
The integration of the visually impaired in society depends on the people’s reactions’ to individual cases, level of consciousness and experience in this field, Blu said.
“Some segments of society acquired sufficient levels of awareness that allowed them to understand these cases,” he said. “This awareness was either acquired through the media, personal contact with the visually impaired or cohabitation with them.”
Some people deal directly with the individually impaired in a positive manner, while others lack awareness in this issue.
“Some people lack the necessary experience to deal with this disability,” Blu said of sighted individuals. “They look upon those inflicted with pity and are not normally convinced with their abilities.”