18 March 2025
The president of the World Council of Optometry (WCO) has issued a statement in recognition of World Optometry Week 2025, highlighting how the profession is “uniquely positioned” to help address challenges in providing sustainable eye care.
This year, the theme for the annual awareness week, which runs from 17–23 March, is Eyes to the future: Optometry improving global wellness and aims to illustrate the role of optometry in shaping eye care around the world.
The WCO has outlined the challenges facing healthcare systems, such as the growing global population, ageing demographics, and rising urbanisation.
Dr Sandra Block, president of the WCO, said: “By expanding optometry’s role as a primary eye care provider within collaborative care models, we as optometrists are uniquely positioned to address these challenges.”
The WCO is seeking to proactively represent the profession, addressing the increasing demand for quality, accessible, and equitable eye care, Block said.
“WCO envisions the future of eye care as one where optometry plays a central role in global health systems to meet this demand. As a relatively young profession, we must continue to educate policymakers about optometry’s importance in the global health agenda,” she added.
In order to enhance recognition and regulation of optometry, the WCO produced a Concept of Optometry to clearly define the role of practice and the importance of optometrists within primary care.
Last year saw the launch of the WCO Competency Framework for Optometry, which identifies the competencies required for optometry to participate in the international eye care agenda with the most effect.
The framework was developed in line with the World Health Organization’s Eye Care Competency Framework, which Block suggested: “Underscored the challenge of an insufficient number of eye care providers to address the more than one billion people affected by preventable vision impairment and blindness.”
Block commented: “WCO believes that the documented number of people identified with preventable impairment is a direct call to action for optometry in this pivotal moment. Our members across the globe are entering the conversation on how to expand the workforce, raise awareness of the growing demand for eye care, and ensure practitioners have the necessary competencies to provide high quality eye care.”
WCO also continues to partner with organisations and corporate bodies to develop tools and resources for practitioners.
Block said: “Now is the time to grow our professional footprint to help address the challenges outlined five years ago in the World Report on Vision. It is going to take time to effect change, but if optometry continues to work together, we can be part of the solution.”
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