Join the Leading Global Eye Health Alliance.
Membership-
Choose an alternate language here
- Membership
Pacific Ministers of Health, senior government representatives, global health leaders and development partners gathered yesterday in Geneva for a high-level Pacific Islands Health Ministers Meeting, held alongside the 79th World Health Assembly.
The meeting celebrated the Pacific region’s longstanding leadership in advancing eye health and paid tribute to the enduring legacy of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust , and the commitment of Pacific governments, health workers and communities whose collective efforts have strengthened eye health systems across the region, despite the challenges of geographic dispersion and complex service delivery environments.
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh, Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), attended the meeting.
Fabrizio D’Espacito, Head of the Western Pacific Region, IAPB, reflected on the significance of the forthcoming Global Summit on Eye Health , saying: “It is not only about the Summit on, nor about making a pledge at the Summit. The real work begins afterwards. One of our key objectives is to ensure lasting legacy and sustained visibility for eye health.”
A key outcome of today’s meeting was the proposed draft Pacific Bloc Statement, to be delivered at the Global Summit. It will reflect the ministers and representatives’ emphasis on the importance of a coordinated regional voice that reflects shared priorities and demonstrates continued Pacific leadership on the global stage.
The discussions highlighted the critical role of Small Island Developing States in advancing innovative and collaborative responses to complex health and development challenges. Participants reaffirmed the Pacific’s commitment to ambitious, government-led action on eye health in the lead-up to the Summit.
Closing the meeting, Peter Holland, Chief Executive Officer of IAPB, affirmed the Pacific’s leadership as an important example for the global community and underscored the need for renewed collective action.
He said: “The Pacific region is a good example of what leadership in this area looks like in practice. The geographic challenges for you all are real – delivering care across island settings is genuinely difficult – and yet this region has made it work….The Global Summit in November is a chance to build on exactly this kind of leadership.”
The meeting took place ahead of the first ever Global Summit for Eye Health , to be held in Antigua and Barbuda in November 2026 alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
