UK Parliament sees The Value of Vision

Parliamentarians, government ministers and global eye health leaders gathered today in UK Parliament to launch The Value of Vision: The Case for Investment, a new evidence base demonstrating that eye health is one of the most powerful yet under-leveraged investments in health and development. 

The event, hosted by Marsha De Cordova MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eye Health and Visual Impairment, and attended by Stephen Kinnock MP, Minister in the Department of Health & Social Care and Chris Elmore MP, Minister in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Officer as well as representatives from civil society, research and the independent sector to examine how investing in eye health can accelerate progress across education, livelihoods, gender equality and poverty reduction. 

Addressing the event, Ms Cordova said “Eye health affects almost all of us at some point in our lives, yet it continues to receive a disproportionately small share of health and development investment. The evidence is clear: investing in vision delivers some of the highest returns in global health, with benefits that extend far beyond healthcare.” 

Globally, 2.2 billion people live with vision impairment, with at least half of cases avoidable or untreated. Unaddressed sight loss costs the global economy an estimated US$411 billion each year in lost productivity, despite the fact that many leading causes of vision loss are straightforward and highly cost-effective to treat. 

Also in attendance was Stephen Kinnock MP, Minister of State of Care, he addressed the room stating “The challenge for all of us in this room is this revolution…I think this report from the IAPB reminds us of the number of people worldwide who still go without decent care. I really want your dedication to making decent eye care available to people across the world.” 

The Parliamentary event marks an early milestone on the road to the first Global Summit for Eye Health, to be held in Antigua and Barbuda in 2026. The Summit aims to secure stronger national commitments, financing and accountability for eye health worldwide. 

An expert panel featuring leaders from the eye health and development community expressed the role of primary eye care, research and innovation, global delivery, and international cooperation in turning ambition into action. Including statements from; 

• Jessica Thompson, Deputy CEO of the IAPB, said “The Value of Vision shows that simple interventions, like glasses and cataract surgery, can transform lives and economies. With proven solutions already available, the challenge now is to secure political will and sustained investment.” 

• Caroline Harper, CEO Sightsavers, “Having the Value of Vision, the commitments, the Summit, we can hopefully see the same successes we have seen with trachoma. Give governments the reason to choose eye health and vision when making difficult investment decisions.” 

• Jessica Thompson, Deputy CEO of the IAPB, “This issue could be solvable in our lifetime and the feeling of “this is possible” is the penny-drop moment that we need with governments.” 

• Keith Valentine, Chief Executive, Fight for Sight ,“Access to vision services can have a profound impact on the liberty of people to live their lives and contribute to the economy. The important thing for us to is to be cause-first, always. Think about how we organise, collaborate and reach beyond the systems… The Summit gives us a profound opportunity to collaborate and for us to engage the UK economy on this issue.” 

• Giles Edmonds, Clinical Services Director, Specsavers, “As optometrists, we are prepared to be the GPs for eyes, but that requires bold decisions. We have the skill, the technology and the will, so let’s make full use of the capacity and capability we have to improve access to care for everyone in communities throughout the UK.” 

The event reinforced the UK’s long-standing leadership in eye health research, service delivery and global development, and highlighted the opportunity for Parliament to help sustain momentum ahead of the Global Summit for Eye Health.