UN resolution for preventable loss eye care by 2030

An unprecedented United Nations General Assembly Resolution has unanimously committed 193 countries to eye care for the world’s 1.1 billion people with preventable sight loss by 2030.

With sight loss calculated to cost the global economy $411bn in productivity each year, the resolution is the first agreement designed to tackle preventable sight loss to be adopted by the United Nations, cementing eye health as part of its Sustainable Development Goals.

The resolution sets a target to ensure full access to eye care services for all of the countries involved, creating new expectations for international financial institutions and donors to provide targeted finances, especially to support developing countries in tackling preventable sight loss. By 2030, 1.1 billion people living with sight loss will have access to support and treatment. But, campaigners say, only if governments and international institutions act now to fulfil their new commitments.

Commenting on the adoption of the Resolution, Daniel McBride, President of CooperVision and Global Patron of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), said: “This is a landmark development by the United Nations General Assembly, clearly defining the need for treating vision impairments and preventing future sight loss worldwide. It’s up to all of us to help fulfill what the agreement sets out—industry, practitioners, institutions and governments alike.”

Peter Holland, CEO of the IAPB, added: “The eye health sector has believed for a long time that quality eye health is critical to the world achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and this resolution is testament to a lot of hard work. We are delighted that the resolution was passed unanimously and would like to thank all the countries that co-sponsored the resolution, especially the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Ireland and Bangladesh for their leadership on eye health at the United Nations and around the world. IAPB’s members will now work tirelessly to support governments to enact this resolution and hold governments to account to ensure that no one is left behind”.

You can access the UN Resolution text here.