A HEALTH AND GENDER ISSUE

Evidence shows that women and girls experience a disproportionate burden of sight loss and face additional barriers to accessing eye health services and assistive products with the same frequency as men. Currently, 55% of people with vision loss are women and girls, with the majority living in low-and-middle-income-countries. By not addressing the intersectional root causes and response mechanisms of eye health issues amongst women, as well as their under-representation in eye health provider leadership, they will remain a vulnerable population excluded from opportunity, trapped in poverty and disproportionately impacted by social, economic and climate-related shocks.