A Special Moment for Global Eye Health?

Sixty-three countries have written to UN Secretary General António Guterres calling for the creation of a Special Envoy on Vision. The Envoy would “build on the significant momentum developed around eye health over the past three years” and enable a global advocate to lead the implementation of the 2021 UN General Assembly resolution 75/310, “Vision for Everyone: Accelerating Action to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

The letter – co-ordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and signed by organizations from countries including Nigeria, India, the UK, China, Ireland, Brazil, Ghana, and Australia – explains that more than 2.2 billion people are living with vision impairment, which costs the global economy $411 billion in lost productivity each year. “Ninety percent of avoidable sight loss is experienced by people in low- and middle-income countries,” the letter goes on, “and those left behind tend to be the poorest and most marginalized groups in countries of all income levels...”  

The appointment of a Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Vision will support the World Health Organization in “mobilizing national action and political commitment on vision and eye health,” the letter states. The Envoy would accelerate the international community’s implementation of resolution 75/31 “once and for all” – and be able to “tackle a development issue which can be solved this decade.” 

More than 150 CEOs and leaders of eye health organizations also sent a letter to the Secretary General, supporting the call for a Special Envoy. They write, “Opportunities to spark generational-level change are rare… For vision, that moment has arrived.”