A day into a movement

World Sight Day has always been an important moment to focus the world’s attention on eye health. But over the past four years, underpinned by the #LoveYourEyes campaign, it has grown into something much larger: a platform for sustained advocacy and public engagement. 

We launched the Love Your Eyes campaign in 2021 to enable the sector to advocate year-round, transforming World Sight Day from a one-day awareness push into an anchor point within a larger movement. This approach supports the Activate pillar of our 2030 In Sight strategy, providing our members, global partners, and the public with practical tools to drive demand for services and push for the integration of eye health into stronger health systems. 

The call to pledge to #LoveYourEyes is central to this evolution. Each pledge represented an individual’s commitment to prioritising their eye health, but collectively, they sent a powerful message to governments, that people everywhere care about their eye health, and eye care should not be a privilege for the few but a right for all. 

Each year, with World Sight Day as the vehicle, we expand the Love Your Eyes campaign by adding new initiatives, like focusing on eye health in the workplace or child eye health. For World Sight Day in 2023, our partnership with the International Labour Organization brought global attention to eye health in the world of work, demonstrating how clear vision improves productivity, safety, and well-being. This research goes towards strengthening our advocacy with employers and governments, showcasing eye health as an economic priority, not just a health issue. In 2024, we highlighted the importance of child eye health and early intervention through new research, a design competition, and a feature on the CBeebies Bedtime Story programme, helping to destigmatize wearing glasses and prioritise eye care for the next generation.  

These initiatives continue to expand the reach of the campaign to audiences beyond the traditional eye health sector. They create grassroots public support that translates into political pressure for eye care for all. IAPB members have been challenged to use World Sight Day to host screenings at parliament buildings to help place eye health on the national agenda.  

As we look ahead to World Sight Day 2025, we invite you to see it as more than a single day on the calendar. Use it to engage your networks, inspire your communities, and drive conversations with decision-makers. Together, we’ve turned one day of action into a global movement—but the work is far from done.