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The World Glaucoma Week 2012 ( WGW2012 ) will be held from March 11 to 17th, 2012. The first World Glaucoma Day was held on March 6, 2008 and the celebration had been extended to a week long campaign since 2010. The aim of WGW 2012 is to increase public awareness of glaucoma as the leading cause of irreversible preventable visual disability or blindness, to encourage screening, patient education and advocacy on behalf of patients. Glaucoma is the name given to a group of eye diseases in which the optic nerve, ( which carries the image to the brain for us to see), at the back of the eye, is slowly destroyed. In most people, this damage is due to increased pressure inside the eye as a result of blockage of the circulation of aqueous fluid, or its drainage. In other patients the damage may be caused by poor blood supply to vital optic nerve fibres, a weakness in the structure of the nerve and/or a problem health of the nerve fibres themselves. Chronic open angle glaucoma is the commonest type of glaucoma and it shows symptoms until eye sight is lost at a latter stage. Damage progresses very slowly and destroys vision gradually starting with the sides. One eye covers for the other, and the person is unaware of such a problem until the majority of nerves fibres have been damaged and a greater part of ones vision is destroyed. The damage is irreversible. It is progressive and usually relentless. Treatment cannot recover what has been lost, but it can be arrested or at least slow down the damage process. That is why it is so important to detect the problem as early as possible, to be able to start treatment when the damage is little. Some people are more at risk of developing glaucoma than others. Examples are family history, diabetes, migraine, short sightedness, (myopia) long sightedness (hyperopia), eye injuries, blood pressure past or present use of steroids. In Ghana, slightly over 2 per cent of the population, (600,000) is believed to have Glaucoma , out of which 250,000 do not know it or are undiagnosed and at least 50,000 are already blind from Glaucoma. Glaucoma can best be detected through screening. Early detection and treatment does reduce further damage. It is because of this that the Glaucoma Association of Ghana, (GAG), in collaboration with other eye care institutions and organisations like the Ophthalmological Society of Ghana (OSG), Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH), Ophthalmic Nurses Group, Optometrists Association of Ghana, Yvonne Nelson Glaucoma Foundation, Rotary and Lions Clubs of Ghana are all supporting the World Glaucoma Week 2012 celebration. The theme for the celebration is : �Don�t let Glaucoma darken your life�. The programme line- up for the celebration involves, press launch on Thursday, March 8 at the Ministry of Health conference Room at 9.30 am, by the Health Minister, free public eye screening at the EL-WAK Stadium on Saturday, March 10 from 9am to 2pm and a public forum on the theme on Friday, March 16 2012 at British Council Auditorium from 4.30 am to 7.30pm. Remember, Glaucoma can best be detected through screening. Don�t let Glaucoma darken your Life. The general public in Ghana is invited to the free public screening and the forum *The writer is the President of the Glaucoma Association of Ghana and Coordinator of the 2012 WGW, South Sahara Africa