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Sep 15, 2022, 11:29 ET
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BARCELONA , Spain, Sept. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Eyes of the World Foundation has launched ‘Iris of the World’ to raise awareness of the deficiencies in eye care in the most vulnerable areas of the world, and to promote the right to vision.  
Javier Bardem launches the initiative by ‘donating’ his iris to raise as much money as possible to fight against avoidable blindness, which can be prevented and treated with the right care and resources. Effectively, the actor’s eyes will help to open others’ eyes.
Starting at $9,000, the auction is for a digital NFT file, and a printed photograph signed by the actor, both authenticated as unique pieces. Whoever acquires them will have exclusive ownership of them in their own right. Other personalities from the world of art, culture and sport will collaborate for auctions of NFTs and printed photographs in the future.
“To be able to see, to be able to hear, to be able to touch or to be able to feel are things that we don’t appreciate until we lose them.” says Javier Bardem.
Director of the Eyes of the World Foundation, Anna Barba says “we want to communicate that the right to vision should not be subject to the availability of economic resources of a person or a country. It’s a question of giving sight back to thousands of people without resources who suffer from serious eye problems that can be prevented or treated if action is taken in time,” she remarked.
Eyes of the World estimates the cost of an eye check-up at $7 and a cataract operation at $70.
The Foundation will use the amount raised to expand its lines of action and promote new projects in the Saharawi camps, Mozambique, Bolivia and Mali.
Millions of people in developing countries suffer from eye problems caused by hygienic and sanitary deficiencies, adverse climatic conditions or traumatisms suffered during conflicts. There are 1.1 billion blind people worldwide and around 90% of cases could be prevented or cured.
Some blindness can be avoided with the right care and resources in vulnerable territories: 90% live in low and middle-income countries.
161 million people suffer from uncorrected refractive errors, 100 million from cataracts and 510 million have difficulty seeing up close with 55% of visually impaired people being women says IAPB*.  
The auction starts 29 September at 12h UTC and runs until 6 October at 18h. www.irisesoftheworld.org
About the Eyes of the World Foundation
The Eyes of the World Foundation is a non-for-profit organisation that contributes to improving the eye health of the poor in impoverished countries. The aim is to enable them to receive quality ophthalmological care from their local health services, as well as to create optimal conditions to reduce the incidence of eye diseases in each territory. Eyes of the World also raises public awareness of the deficiencies in basic health care in those areas.
*International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
SOURCE Fundación Ojos del Mundo
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