HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh urges action on avoidable sight loss

Geneva, Switzerland: HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh, Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), today encouraged urgent action to tackle the global crisis of avoidable sight loss. 

Attending the World Health Assembly for the first time, The Duchess of Edinburgh underlined the global importance of addressing preventable blindness. Speaking to Ministers of Health, diplomats and international health leaders Her Royal Highness said more than one billion people are living with preventable or treatable sight loss “not through any lack of solutions, but through a lack of sustained, prioritised action. 

Strong economic case 

The Duchess drew on the Value of Vision investment case, highlighting that every dollar invested in eye health in low- and middle-income countries generates an estimated twenty-eight dollars in economic returns. 

The Duchess said: “The value of vision is just not a moral argument but an economic argument. The case for investment is more than compelling. Every dollar invested in eye health in low- and middle-income countries generates an estimated twenty-eight dollars in economic returns.”   

“Eye health accounts for up to ten per cent of patient consultations in many low- and middle-income countries yet receives less than one per cent of national health budgets. 

That gap is not sustainable. And it is not justifiable.”  

Unprecedented opportunity in 2026 

The Duchess’s speech comes ahead of the first ever Global Summit for Eye Health, being held in Antigua and Barbuda on 2 November 2026, alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). 

The Global Summit for Eye Health will bring together Heads of State and Government alongside eye health leaders and funders to make deliverable, measurable commitments on eye health. 

The Duchess of Edinburgh encouraged every delegation present in Geneva this week to use the World Health Assembly as the moment to begin shaping their country’s commitments ahead of November: “Don’t wait until November. Start now shaping commitments you can announce. We have the know-how. We just need your will and commitment. Invest in sight and you invest in communities, individuals, regions.”  

The Global Summit for Eye Health, officially supported by the World Health Organization, will be co-hosted by Nigeria.