Eye Care Awareness Month is commemorated from 21 September to 18 October to raise awareness about the importance of eye health. On the 12th of October South Africa joined the rest of the global health community in creating this awareness. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) at least 2.2 billion people have vision impairment or blindness, of which more than 1 billion cases could have been prevented by simply doing an eye test. Shortsightedness, also referred to as myopia, particularly becoming more prevalent. If problems are detected early, management and treatment of the condition can prevent deterioration. The above statistics proves that an eye test is imperative to maintain general eye health. Elvis Presslin spoke to Ophthalmologist and Optometrist Gersha Arends.