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Anecdotally and with some statistics available through a google search (few sites listed below) I can confidently say that there is an increasing number of females in the optometry profession. It was a pleasure to visit the Chittagong Eye Infirmary and Training Complex in Bangladesh where they have the first degree course for Optometry in Bangladesh. I met the first two cohorts of optometrists trained at the school and was pleasantly surprised that 85% of the students in the Optometry school are female. I happened to be there on International Women’s Day (#IWD2016) and we all made the #PledgeForParity. It was an exciting day at the school and I left feeling uplifted and ready to do my bit to achieve global gender parity.
I have had the pleasure of working with the current Regional Chairs and have found their support and guidance to be invaluable as we search for innovative ways to take the GAP to the countries and engage with the Ministries of Health. So this is an opportunity to say thank you.
The European Blind Union (EBU) and several other European NGOs published an open letter [1] warning the 28 EU Ministers in charge of Digital Affairs that their current plans for the web accessibility directive could deny millions of disabled and older citizens equal access to the digital world, exclude them from full participation in society and create unacceptable digital barriers to employment.
Are we going to achieve the objectives of Universal eye health: A Global Action Plan (GAP) in the Western Pacific? Is the GAP making an impact and are countries making progress?
