Jan. 30, 2025 — Prevent Blindness has designated February as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month to highlight the impact of AMD and low vision on millions of Americans.
A 2019 study using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System estimated that nearly 19.83 million Americans were living with some form of AMD.
To provide information on AMD and low vision, Prevent Blindness offers free resources, including fact sheets and social media graphics in English and Spanish. The Prevent Blindness AMD GuideMe app allows patients and caregivers to create a personalized guide on managing the disease.
As part of its Focus on Eye Health Expert Series, Prevent Blindness offers educational videos featuring medical professionals and patients discussing AMD and low vision:
- “Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision” with W. Lloyd Clark, MD, of Palmetto Retinal Center
- “Low Vision” with R. Tracy Williams, OD, FAAO, of Spectrios Institute for Low Vision
- “Vision Impairment and Mental Wellness” featuring AMD patient Connie Hills, PhD
Prevent Blindness offers downloadable resources and social media materials about geographic atrophy, which affects approximately 20% of individuals with AMD. The Focus on Eye Health Expert Series also includes videos addressing GA:
- “Advancements in Treatments for Geographic Atrophy” with Rajeev S. Ramchandran, MD, MBA, of the University of Rochester Medical Center
- “Geographic Atrophy and Patient Support” featuring Sherry Williams, former CEO of Prevent Blindness Ohio
- “Geographic Atrophy” with Janet S. Sunness, MD, of Greater Baltimore Medical Center.
Prevent Blindness also offers Living Well With Low Vision, a resource with directories, self-help guides, and vision rehabilitation information.
“The impact of retinal eye diseases, such as AMD, and low vision affects not only patients but their care partners and families as well,” says Jeff Todd, Prevent Blindness president and CEO. “By providing trusted informative resources that help save sight from advancing eye disease and conditions like AMD, by helping to connect patients to eye care, and assisting those who are already experiencing vision loss, we continue our essential 117-year mission to serve as the patient’s partner in eye health.”