For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 28, 2003
Save Your Vision Week, 2003
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Each year, the number of Americans who suffer from vision loss
increases, yet half of all blindness can be prevented through early
detection and treatment. During Save Your Vision Week, we renew our
commitment to protecting eyesight by promoting healthy eye care and by
encouraging Americans to receive routine vision screenings and dilated
eye exams.
Our sense of sight affects how we work, communicate, and learn.
All Americans must be aware of the risk of vision loss and take steps
to preserve and protect their eyesight, beginning with getting regular
eye exams, using the appropriate protective eyewear, and maintaining a
healthy lifestyle. These small steps can make a big difference. When
Americans take responsibility for improving their health, our whole
society benefits.
Healthy vision is especially critical to our children's ability to
receive a good education and establish a strong foundation in life.
According to the American Optometric Association, 80 percent of
learning depends on vision, yet 86 percent of children entering school
have not had a thorough eye examination. Due to hereditary and
prenatal factors, from a very early age, many children are at high risk
for potentially severe eye diseases, including retinopathy of
prematurity (ROP), amblyopia, and congenital glaucoma. One in four
kids will develop myopia as teenagers. Children need regular eye care
from birth to prevent and treat conditions that lead to visual
impairment and blindness. Parents play a key role in obtaining eye
care for their children and must be knowledgeable about the potential
threats to a child's eyesight. For the future of our Nation, it is
vital that we care for the visual health and well-being of America's
children so they are able to reach their full potential.
As part of my HealthierUS Initiative and my Administration's
ongoing commitment to helping the American people live healthier lives,
I encourage all Americans to get preventative health screenings. These
screenings may tell you if you are prone to developing certain
diseases, can help protect your vision, and could even save your life.
I particularly urge parents to ask their children's doctors about
vision screenings and eye exams, which can help ensure eye diseases and
conditions are detected and treated early, when treatment is most
effective. Through education about healthy vision and promotion of
good eye care, we help protect the eyesight of countless people across
our Nation.
The Congress, by joint resolution approved December 30, 1963, as
amended (77 Stat. 629; 36 U.S.C. 138), has authorized and requested the
President to proclaim the first week in March of each year as "Save
Your Vision Week." During this week, I encourage all Americans to
learn more about ways to prevent eye problems and to help others
maintain the precious gift of sight.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States
of America, do hereby proclaim March 2 through March 8, 2003, as Save
Your Vision Week. I urge all Americans to make eye care and eye safety
an important part of their lives and to include dilated eye
examinations in their regular health maintenance programs. I invite
eye care professionals, teachers, the media, and all public and private
organizations dedicated to preserving eyesight to join in activities
that will raise awareness of measures all Americans can take to protect
and sustain our vision.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth
day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-seventh.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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