Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh shines a light on eye health projects in the Americas

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh was in Peru and Belize, visiting eye health projects as part of her role as Global Ambassador for the IAPB. The visit highlights the importance of accessible, equitable eye care and celebrates the organisations and individuals across the America’s working to prevent avoidable blindness and vision loss. 

While in Peru, The Duchess visited the Asociación Civil Divino Niño in Lima, IAPB’s longest-standing member in the country, to learn about its work preventing blindness and restoring sight among vulnerable and low-income populations. With more than 25 years of experience providing social and eye-health services in Lima and Iquitos, Divino Niño is a cornerstone of community-based eye care in Peru. Her Royal Highness watched glaucoma screening and treatment in action, meeting with ophthalmologists and patients to better understand the importance of early detection and long-term management of this leading cause of irreversible blindness. 

The Duchess also travelled to Belize to visit the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired (BCVI), where she saw first-hand the work being done to address diabetic retinopathy which continues to be an increasing challenge across the region as rates of non-communicable diseases rise. The visit also included conversations about the barriers women and girls in the country face in accessing eye care. 

In both countries, Her Royal Highness spoke with clinicians, community health workers and patients, learning how local innovation, international partnership and sustained investment are transforming access to sight-saving care.  

Speaking after the visit Peter Holland, Chief Executive of IAPB said “Her Royal Highness’s visit has brought awareness to the vital work being carried out across the America’s to tackle avoidable vision loss. In Peru and Belize, local organisations are demonstrating how community-based solutions, strong leadership and gender-inclusive approaches can deliver real change. This visit underscores the importance of collaboration in achieving our global 2030 In Sight goal, a world where everyone, everywhere has access to affordable, quality eye care.” 

Across both countries, access to comprehensive, equitable eye care remains uneven, particularly for women, rural populations and those on lower incomes. The IAPB Vision Atlas reports that Peru faces one of the highest rates of visual impairment in the Andean region, and investment in eye health interventions in the country would deliver $2.4 billion USD in economic benefits.  In Belize, diabetic retinopathy is an emerging public health concern, with early screening and treatment proving essential to prevent sight loss. Eye health investment would address rising rates of diabetic retinopathy and inject over $9 million USD from economic benefits like learning, wellbeing, traffic safety and employment.