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In a timely and visionary move, Nigeria has taken a bold step towards strengthening its eye health systems with the successful hosting of the maiden edition of the Eyeball Summit 2025, organized by the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Registration Board of Nigeria (ODORBN), led by Dr. Obinna Edwin Awiaka, the CEO/Registrar. Under the theme “Shaping the Future of Eye Care in Nigeria: Strengthening Systems Through Strategic Alliances,” the two-day eye health leadership summit and investment summit/expo held in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria brought together stakeholders across government, public health, private sector, academia, and development to collectively rethink and reframe the future of eye care in Nigeria.
This summit was more than a conference, it was a signal. A signal that eye health is rising on the national agenda, gaining the visibility, investment, and leadership it has long deserved. For a sector that has often struggled to capture sustained political will and attention, this deliberate effort by ODORBN marks a strategic turning point. The conversations and alliances fostered during the summit are poised to catalyze systems-level transformation in Nigeria’s eye health landscape.
“This summit represents a new era for eye care in Nigeria where strategic alliances are not just talked about, but actively forged for real change,” said Dr. Obinna Edwin Awiaka, CEO/Registrar of ODORBN.
At the heart of the Eyeball Summit’s success was its alignment with global imperatives. As the world anticipates the first-ever Global Summit for Eye Health in 2026, led by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), national efforts like Nigeria’s become increasingly vital. The Global Summit aims to drive high-level commitments, mobilize resources, and create national accountability frameworks for universal eye health by 2030. Nigeria’s Eyeball Summit lays the groundwork to actively participate in and contribute to this global movement.
Nigeria’s Eyeball Summit also carries regional significance. As Africa’s most populous nation and a key voice in continental health diplomacy, Nigeria’s proactive stance can inspire similar national efforts across sub-Saharan Africa and the continent at large. The summit’s outcomes may serve as a replicable model for integrating eye health into broader health and development agendas across the region.
With over 1 billion people worldwide living with avoidable vision loss, the need for unified action has never been more urgent. Nigeria’s Eyeball Summit stands as a compelling example of what it looks like when national leadership, regulatory bodies, and the broader ecosystem come together with intention. It reinforces the growing consensus that eye health is not a peripheral issue, it is central to human development, economic productivity, and health system resilience.
In a country where uncorrected refractive errors, cataract, and access disparities remain persistent challenges, the Eyeball Summit represented a fresh lens through which to view policy, planning, and integration. From discussions around workforce development and integration to the role of innovation and private sector engagement, the event created space to address long-standing gaps with new energy. Importantly, it positioned eye health as a development issue which is critical to achieving not just health goals, but also education, productivity, and social inclusion.
As stakeholders reflect on the outcomes of the Eyeball Summit 2025, the real work begins of translating ideas into action, collaborations into impact, and policies into measurable progress. The road to 2030 requires consistent national leadership, cross-sector accountability, and community-driven advocacy.
As the global eye health community builds momentum towards 2026, Nigeria’s recent summit reminds us that transformation begins with bold national action. And with strategic alliances at the core, the path to 2030 in Sight becomes ever more possible.
