Reflections from WHA 79: Momentum, Visibility, and Global Connections

The 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva was undoubtedly one of the most impactful WHAs I have attended in the last five years.

This year felt especially significant for global eye health. There was stronger political attention, more visible engagement from Member States and partners, and a growing recognition that eye health is an essential part of broader health and development priorities.

One of the biggest highlights was the official WHA side event, ‘The Value of Vision: The Roadmap to the Global Summit for Eye Health’. The event brought together ministers, WHO leadership, diplomats, technical experts, and civil society representatives to discuss the future of global eye health and build momentum toward the first-ever Global Summit for Eye Health. The attendance of HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh brought important visibility to the event and reflected the increasing global attention being given to eye health.

I was truly glad to be organizing such an important moment and to see the event receive strong interest and engagement from high-level participants throughout the Assembly.

Another key highlight was the Pacific Eye Health Leaders Meeting hosted at the residence of the British Permanent Representative. It created a valuable opportunity to engage directly with Ministers of Health, senior government officials, mission representatives, and partners from across the Pacific region.

Alongside these formal sessions, the bilateral meetings during WHA continue to be one of the most valuable aspects of the Assembly creating space for collaboration, relationship-building, and advancing shared priorities in global health.

This WHA was also personally meaningful because I had the opportunity to meet in person with fellow members of the WHO CSO Commission Steering Committee, of which I have been a member since last year. After many months of virtual engagement, it was wonderful to finally connect face-to-face and exchange ideas on strengthening civil society engagement within WHO processes.

As every year, the eye health sector once again demonstrated its strong presence at WHA through the delivery of a constituency statement under the agenda on primary health care. It was encouraging to see eye health once again resonate within discussions among Member States.

The statement can be found here.

Beyond the official meetings and side events, WHA remains a unique space for reconnecting with colleagues, meeting new partners, exchanging ideas, and feeling the collective energy of the global health community gathered in Geneva.