In the last 30 years, concerted effort has been made to improve eyecare systems globally, yet there remain significant challenges which The World Health Organization believe need to be urgently addressed.
Approximately 2.2 billion people globally have a visual impairment, half of which is treatable or preventable. According to Sightsavers, the number of people who are blind could triple by 2050 if we don’t urgently act and fund eye care effectively.
The latest world report on vision seeks to stimulate action in countries to address the significant challenges to eyecare by proposing integrated people-centred eye care (IPEC) as an approach to health system strengthening. It will build the foundation for service delivery to address the needs of a country.
“Eye health is an often-forgotten element of health and wellbeing, and this has led to a mounting global crisis. The ‘Eye care in health systems: Guide for action’ is a vital step to addressing this" Sumrana Yasmin, Senior Global Technical Lead: Eye Health URE at SightSavers.
Some of the recommendations by WHO are to:
✅Make eye care an integral part of universal health coverage
✅Implement integrated people-centred eye care in health systems
✅Promote high-quality research
✅Monitor trends and evaluate progress
✅Raise awareness and engage and empower people and communities
It is hoped that with these recommendations, urgent resource, funding, and efforts, we can fight our way out of the growing eye health crisis.
Link to the full report: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241516570