NAEVR SUPPORTS THE MARCH FOR SCIENCE

(Washington, D.C.) Today, NAEVR Executive Director James Jorkasky issued the following statement regarding the non-partisan March for Science activities scheduled to occur across the nation on April 22:

“NAEVR is joining with its colleagues from professional and scientific societies, patient and consumer groups, and academia to support the April 22 March for Science activities across the United States.

As an advocate for federal funding for vision research, NAEVR acknowledges the breakthroughs in basic and clinical research funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that are saving and restoring vision—which Americans have identified over the past fifty years as most important to their quality of life. That investment must continue, as the aging of the population, the disproportionate incidence of eye disease in the African American and Hispanic communities, and the impact on vision from chronic diseases such as diabetes will drive the annual cost of vison impairment to $717 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars by year 2050. Adequately funding vision science—as well as the training of the next generation of vision scientists—is essential to this looming public health challenge.”

The National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) is a 501(c)4 non-profit advocacy coalition comprised of 55 professional, consumer, and industry organizations involved in eye and vision research. Visit the Web site at www.eyeresearch.org.