01 February 2024
Advancing optometry’s commitment to global eye care has been revealed as the theme of this year’s World Optometry Week.
The annual awareness initiative, which will run from 17–23 March, aims to highlight the work of the profession and the contribution that optometrists play in increasing access to eye healthcare as a human right globally, World Council of Optometry (WCO) shared.
The week-long campaign will conclude with World Optometry Day on 23 March.
WCO explained that this year, it seeks to highlight through the week the ongoing work done by optometrists to improve equitable access to eye care, as well as the role that the profession plays in promoting the adoption of integrated people-centred eye care (IPEC) in countries’ health systems.
IPEC, which aims to engage people and communities, reorient the model of care towards primary care, and coordinate services within and across sectors, is recommended in the World Health Organization’s 2019 World Report on Vision.
WCO president, Dr Sandra Block, said: “As we approach World Optometry Week 2024, I am encouraged to see how optometry as a profession is embracing the need to address the large burden of preventable vision impairment.”
“We continue to educate our patients as well as stakeholders who understand the importance of access to quality eye care. Optometry has taken a leadership role in addressing the many challenges,” she added.
The WCO has developed a range of social media resources, available in seven different languages, that optometrists can use to raise awareness of the week. In addition, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness has published an Advocacy to Action Toolkit containing information, tools, templates and resources to support the profession in advocating for the implementation of IPEC.
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