- Ongoing donation efforts deliver equipment and medical
supplies needed for increasingly important eye care services and
procedures to help underserved patients during the
pandemic
- Associates around the world participate in the Steps for
Sight Challenge to help improve access to quality eye care
- New Alcon Foundation video PSA highlights the importance of
eye health screenings, premiering at this year’s American Academy
of Optometry (AAO) annual meeting
Alcon (SIX/NYSE: ALC), the global leader in eye care dedicated
to helping people see brilliantly, today celebrates World Sight Day
through its corporate giving and company-led initiatives focused on
improving access to quality eye care. In the spirit of this year’s
theme, “Hope in Sight,” Alcon associates will help spark donations
to global nonprofit organizations that advance eye health. The goal
is to support people around the world in need of eye care,
particularly as eye health issues, including vision loss, myopia,
cataracts, refractive errors and more, have emerged or worsened due
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year, our Alcon team has seen firsthand how the COVID-19
pandemic has made access to quality eye care even more challenging
for communities across the globe,” said David J. Endicott, Chief
Executive Officer, Alcon. “Now more than ever, Alcon is proud to
partner with nonprofit eye health organizations who are working
toward a common goal of improving access to eye care, including
offering free eye surgeries and eye care resources to patients, as
well as providing training and education to eye care providers
across the world. Through these impactful initiatives, we can help
improve people’s vision and inspire hope in sight.”
Celebrated annually, World Sight Day—coordinated by the
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)—is an
international day of awareness to bring attention to the global
issue of avoidable blindness and visual impairment. Alcon has a
long-standing history of donating surgical equipment and medical
supplies to NGOs and hospitals providing care to underserved
patients. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many necessary eye
surgeries and treatments were delayed, causing a backlog of
surgeries and leaving people’s vision at risk for worsened
conditions. Cornerstone Assistance Network’s Cataract Clinic— the
nation's first free cataract facility for the uninsured, located in
the Dallas-Fort Worth area—saw an uptick in patient requests for
cataract surgeries since the pandemic began. This World Sight Day,
Alcon continues to lend support to Cornerstone Cataract Clinic by
supporting surgical services for uninsured patients.
Around the world, Alcon associates are also participating in a
variety of activities that support eye health awareness for World
Sight Day. Most notably, the Steps for Sight Challenge is a global
company initiative that challenges 2,020 associates to take 10,000
steps on World Sight Day to raise a total of $25,000 for three
global eye health nonprofit organizations—long-time partner Orbis,
Optometry Giving Sight and one surprise recipient to be chosen by
an Alcon site.
This year, Alcon has created a video trailer as a public service
announcement (PSA) to remind people of the importance of eye health
and encourage scheduling eye exams. During this year’s AAO Academy
2020 meeting, delegates will be encouraged to view the video and
share it on their social media channels, with a call-to-action to
generate more than 2,020 views to trigger a $25,000 donation to the
American Academy of Optometry Foundation. The video can be viewed
on the Alcon Corporate YouTube channel.
Beyond World Sight Day, Alcon’s Corporate Giving efforts,
including the Alcon Foundation and Alcon Cares, help people around
the world see brilliantly year-round by increasing access to
quality eye care and driving eye care provider training and skills
transfer. In 2019, Alcon supported more than 500 missions to 69
countries, where volunteer surgeons performed 38,000 eye surgeries
and contributed $63 million in product and equipment donations.
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,”
“intend,” “commitment,” “look forward,” “maintain,” “plan,” “goal,”
“seek,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,”
“future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar references
to future periods.
Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor
assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on
our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the
future of our business, future plans and strategies, and other
future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the
future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties and risks that
are difficult to predict. Some of these factors are discussed in
our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission, including our Form 20-F. In particular, our
expectations could be affected by uncertainties regarding the
success of our separation and spin-off from Novartis. Should one or
more of these uncertainties or risks materialize, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those anticipated. Therefore, you should not rely
on any of these forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as
of the date of its filing, and we assume no obligation to update
forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
About Alcon
Alcon helps people see brilliantly. As the global leader in eye
care with a heritage spanning more than seven decades, we offer the
broadest portfolio of products to enhance sight and improve
people’s lives. Our Surgical and Vision Care products touch the
lives of more than 260 million people in over 140 countries each
year living with conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, retinal
diseases and refractive errors. Our more than 20,000 associates are
enhancing the quality of life through innovative products,
partnerships with eye care professionals and programs that advance
access to quality eye care. Learn more at www.alcon.com.
Alcon Foundation
For more than 50 years, Alcon has partnered with nonprofit
organizations that help advance eye health, skills transfer,
education and access to quality eye care around the world. The
Alcon Foundation awards grants to qualified, U.S.-based tax-exempt
public 501(c)(3) charities that provide high-quality programs,
training and community services with well-defined goals to enhance
sight and improve the lives of people who otherwise would not have
access to proper eye care. For more information, visit
https://www.alcon.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility/eye-care-everyone.
References
- Ateev Mehrotra et al.,The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on
Outpatient Visits: Practices Are Adapting to the New Normal
(Commonwealth Fund, June 2020).
https://doi.org/10.26099/2v5t-9y63
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Investor Relations Christina
Cheng + 41 589 112 110 (Geneva) + 1 817 615 2789 (Fort Worth)
investor.relations@alcon.com
Media Relations Steven Smith
+ 41 589 112 111 (Geneva) + 1 817 551 8057 (Fort Worth)
Globalmedia.relations@alcon.com
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