2001
The first Joint Meeting of the VISION 2020 Task Force and IAPB Executive Committee, together with the WHO PBD, chaired by the President of IAPB.

2000
Lions Club International Foundation integrates "World Sight Day" - an event launched as a part of their Sight First campaign - with VISION 2020. The task Force is also integrated into the IAPB structure in the last quarter of the year. From then on, a joint meeting of the Executive Committee and the Task Force is conducted every year. The President of IAPB chairs these meetings.

1999
VISION 2020:The Right to Sight - the Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness by the year 2020 was formally launched from W.H.O. Headquarters, Geneva on February 18th, 1999.

The Sixth General Assembly of IAPB was held in Beijing, P.R. China, between September 5 - 10, 1999. About 600 participants, from 57 countries attended the Assembly and included medical, technical, managerial and community health professionals involved in the field of eye care. This Assembly assumed great significance since it was held soon after the official launch of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight", the Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness by the year 2020 at the W.H.O. Headquarters in Geneva. The scientific programme was structured to trigger off the VISION 2020 programme. With the theme "The Right to Sight", the Assembly focussed on the major causes of preventable blindness around the globe and strategies for their prevention and eventual elimination. Various models developed by different eye care organisations and national programmes to prevent blindness were presented. From the proceedings of the Assembly, it was concluded that the key for achieving the elimination of avoidable blindness by the year 2020 is: 

• Focussed programmes for priority diseases using proven cost-effective strategies,
• Close collaboration between all partners, and
• Global awareness leading to ownership of Vision 2020 at all levels, particularly at the community level of implementation

1994
The Fifth Assembly was held in Berlin, Germany from May 8 - 13. The three main issues of primary health care were addressed by the theme of the meeting "Towards Affordable, Accessible, Appropriate Eye Care". Various aspects of affordable, accessible and appropriate eye care were discussed in five plenary sessions. The workshop topics included: Assessment of Vision Function and Quality of Life as perceived by the Cataract Patient, Trachoma Control, Ophthalmic Medical Personnel in Prevention of Blindnes s programmes - their training and use and Ocular leprosy.