Over the last 100 years, the kindness of Lions and Leos has multiplied across borders, oceans, and continents. With over 1.4 million members, we now have an opportunity to truly change our world.
That’s why we’re uniting our global service around five areas of need. These Global Causes present significant challenges to humanity, and we believe it’s our turn to meet them.
Although the Global Causes are our primary focus, individual Lions Clubs provide much needed assistance in other areas of their local communities whenever and however they can.
DIABETES AS A GLOBAL CAUSE
Diabetes is a global epidemic, affecting an increasing number of men, women, and children all over the world. It contributes to more than 5 million deaths a year and those numbers are rising.
Diabetes can lead to serious diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves and teeth. In most high-income countries, diabetes is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputation. An estimated 463 million adults across the world are living with diabetes, and its prevalence is increasing rapidly. It is expected to affect 700 million adults by 2045.
Lions and Leos are confronting this global health emergency by raising awareness of diabetes through Strides events, expanding access to care through screening and treatment programs, and improving quality of life through diabetes camps and community recreational programs. We believe we can help prevent and control this global epidemic by uniting Lions and Leos around this cause.
ENVIRONMENT AS A GLOBAL CAUSE
The earth sustains human life. We’ve seen how our stewardship of natural resources can improve quality of life and increase engagement in our local communities. Our environment is more than a background: it’s our home. And we’re committed to caring for it.
HUNGER AS A GLOBAL CAUSE
Nearly one billion people go to bed hungry every night. That’s why Lions and Leos are hard at work addressing this global need by providing help and hope to the children, families and neighbors who need it most. Lions and Leos distribute food to schoolchildren, stock food banks, create sustainable community gardens and lead community food drives to fight hunger where they live and work. We work to sustain life and dignity for the most vulnerable among us.
Some alarming global facts:
- 815 million - people affected by hunger in 2016: 11% of the global population
- 155 million children under age five are stunted due to chronic malnutrition
- 1/3 of annual food production is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain
- 33% of women of reproductive age suffer from anaemia
CHILDHOOD CANCER AS A GLOBAL CAUSE
The family is a nucleus around which most communities are built. The next generation’s ability to thrive is closely tied to the supports of the local community. Every two minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer and less than half of the world’s children have access to effective care. Children who survive cancer are often left with debilitating effects that can impact their physical development and ability to learn.
The next generation’s ability to thrive is closely tied to the supports of the local community. That’s why Lions and Leos are answering the call to expand access to life-saving treatment and support the children and families who need us most. We are working to give children with cancer a second chance at life.
Some alarming global facts:
- Cancer is a leading cause of death for children 300,000 new cases annually in 0-19 year-olds
- 2 minutes - A child is diagnosed with cancer every 2 minutes
- ~1 in 285 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer before age 20
- 13% increase in incidence of childhood cancer over the last 20 years
- 6 years - average age of children at diagnosis with cancer
- > 1 in 10 children who die from cancer deaths live in low resource settings
VISION AS A GLOBAL CAUSE
Ever since Helen Keller inspired us to champion the cause in 1925, we’ve served and advocated for the blind and visually impaired. Nearly a century later, this long-standing mission continues unhindered.
Today, 80% of vision impairments are preventable or curable, so our service is more important than ever before. Lions and Leos screen vision, educate our communities, build clinics and support the blind and visually impaired through assistive technology and vocational training programs. We work to preserve the precious gift of sight for the world.
Some alarming global facts:
- 253 million people are blind or have moderate to severe distance vision impairment (MSVI)
- 1.1 billion have near-vision impairment simply because they don’t have a pair of glasses
- >75% of all blindness and MSVI is avoidable
- 89% of people with visual impairment live in developing countries
Find more information & multiple resources on the
LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL
website at:
https://lionsclubs.org/en/explore-our-clubs/our-global-causes
