Major science prize goes to institutions fighting blindness

Two international institutions with long records of fighting blindness are sharing a €1 million ($1.2 million) eyesight prize from a Portuguese foundation.

The Lisbon, Portugal-based Champalimaud Foundation's annual Vision Award is going this year to British charity Sightsavers and the Germany-based international development organization CBM.

The foundation said Tuesday the winners have reached millions of people in recent decades, especially in low-income countries such as Nepal, Mozambique and Bangladesh. It said the two institutions have established pioneering international programs in the fields of prevention, alleviation and rehabilitation.

The foundation says there are 39 million blind people in the world and that 80 percent of instances of blindness can be prevented or cured.

The Vision Award was created in 2007 and claims to be one of the world's largest scientific prizes.