As you may be aware, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in those aged 60 years and older in the developed countries. With the rapidly ageing population, AMD is likely to become a major public health problem in Singapore as well.

The AMD Awareness Week is a nation-wide event aimed at raising the awareness of AMD among Singapore residents and has been successfully organised for the past six years. This year, the event will kick off on 24 September 2011 with the launch of the AMD Awareness Week, followed by public forums on AMD in various languages, eye screenings for age-related eye diseases, and, patient support group meetings. The rest of the week will have more public forums and eye screenings at many locations (including hospitals, community centres, optometry teaching institutions, optical outlets, and private ophthalmology practices, etc) across the country. There will also be publicity on AMD and the AMD Awareness Week in the various media during the week.