One of the most important tools that helps blind and visually impaired people lead full lives is the Braille alphabet. January 4th is World Braille Day Health
Vision loss goes far beyond health problems. For many people, it means a lack of opportunities. Blind and visually impaired people often live in isolation, need outside help, and face barriers in education and employment.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about a billion people live with some form of visual impairment. But while nearsightedness or farsightedness can be easily corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or surgery, severe vision impairment or complete blindness can lead to a complete loss of independence and control over one’s own destiny.
One of the main tools that helps blind and visually impaired people lead full lives is the Braille alphabet. Different combinations of six dots can convey all the letters of the alphabet, numbers, musical, mathematical, and scientific symbols.
Thanks to them, blind people can receive information from a wide variety of sources and read any materials – from books and newspapers to legal documents and election ballots.
World Braille Day is celebrated on January 4th. The corresponding decision was made by the UN General Assembly in 2018.
According to Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Braille is a means of communication for the blind, helping to ensure their social integration, and is of great importance in the context of education, the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and access to information.
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