More than 2.2 billion people worldwide have a visual impairment or vision loss, and this number is poised to grow because the risk increases with age. Over 90% of vision impairment worldwide is avoidable. However, an estimated 802 million older people across the world are living with preventable vision loss but have no access to eye care. As part of the agenda for healthy ageing, advocates and stakeholders across the vision and ageing communities must collaborate and communicate to policymakers and the public the importance of good vision and eye health to healthy ageing. Advocates and stakeholders must call upon governments across the world to consistently incorporate vision and eye health across all ages, including older adults, into relevant policy initiatives and commit to implementation.
This advocacy brief, created in partnership with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, the International Federation on Ageing, and the European Council of Optometry and Optics, outlines the need for action to support a life course of healthy vision and outlines 6 policy windows to help achieve this.