Links between eye health and gender equality discussed

A keynote address delivered at a UN Friends of Vision meeting has highlighted the connection between eye health and gender equality.

Her Royal Highness, Sophie, The Duchess of Edinburgh, delivered the address in her role as global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).

The meeting, No woman left behind – closing the gender gap in eye health to achieve the SGDs – was held on the margins of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York.

Her Royal Highness emphasised that improving eye health is essential for advancing gender equality, sharing that: “When we get it right with eye health, it has incredible life-changing, far-reaching positive impacts beyond the act of saving or restoring sight, which is why I am passionate about it and why it is so deserving of our action and attention.”

Progress made in the elimination of trachoma was discussed, including successes in Vanuatu and Vietnam.

The Duchess noted, however, persistent gender disparities, particularly among marginalised women, including nomadic, indigenous communities, and women with disabilities.

The need for continued action and tailored approaches to ensuring equitable access to eye care was highlighted.

Her Royal Highness said: “If women and girls have access to proper eye care they are not only more likely to secure better educational and career opportunities, as often the principle backbone of the family, they are then more able to juggle the many responsibilities a woman plays in the home, as well as contributing to community life.”

“But more than that we must let the money speak for itself – the loss every year to countries with large numbers of people in their populations with sight issues runs to the billions of dollars, yet correcting refractive error alone in children could result in more than 50% increase in their lifetime earnings,” she continued.

Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, The Duchess positioned eye health as an enabler of economic development, productivity, education attainment, and gender equality.

Peter Holland, IAPB CEO, commented: “We are at a critical juncture in global eye health – failure to act now will lead to a future where even more people are affected by preventable or treatable sight loss.”

“As an eye health sector, we are working with decision makers to deliver policy commitments already made in the UN Resolution on Vision,” he said.

Jennifer Gersbeck, executive director for influence and scaling impact at The Fred Hollows Foundation, highlighted that women and girls make up 55% of the world’s blind and vision impaired.

“When they can’t access the eye care that they need, it entrenches them further in poverty,” Gersbeck said, adding: “Without urgent action, millions of women and girls will continue to be left behind.”

The Commission on the Status of Women provided an opportunity to advocate for concrete policies and investment to ensure access to eye care, Gersbeck concluded.

Pictured: (Back row) Peter Holland, CEO of IAPB, H.E. Gladys Mokhawa, Permanent Representative of Botswana to the United Nations, H.E Ambassador Walton Webson, permanent representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations, and co-chair and founder of the UN Friends of Vision Group, Dr AH Monjurul Kabir, global adviser and team leader, gender equality and disability inclusion, and Werner Obermeyer, director WHO, New York. (Front row) Jennifer Gersbeck, executive director for influence and scaling impact at The Fred Hollows Foundation and co-chair of the IAPB gender equity work group, HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh, Tara Soomro, permanent mission of UK to the United Nations and an Ambassador ECOSOC Affairs.