World Sight Day 2026: An important milestone toward eye care for all

• IAPB calls on eye care sector to #LoveYourEyes for World Sight Day, 8 October 2026.
• Global campaign for accessible eye care, available sight tests and affordable glasses for all launches ahead of World Sight Day.
• Personal stories, lived experiences, and community action at the heart of World Sight Day 2026.
• World Sight Day comes at a pivotal moment for the sector, as countries prepare their commitments for the first ever Global Summit for Eye Health.

1 July 2026 – IAPB today launched its 2026 campaign for World Sight Day with a call for the eye health sector to once again unite behind the global movement to #LoveYourEyes.

Building on the success of the last five years, the campaign continues to remind everyone, everywhere to prioritise their own eye health, while calling on governments around the world to unlock funding and prioritise eye care so everyone, everywhere can access the care they need.

Taking place on 8 October 2026, this year’s World Sight Day campaign spotlights the power of people, by putting stories, lived experiences, and community action at the heart of the movement. To achieve this, IAPB invites parties to participate in global campaign activations that include:

• Every Story Counts – an opportunity for sharing personal experiences that form a collective and powerful voice that demonstrates why eye health matters to everyone, everywhere – which becomes impossible to ignore.
• 5 Million Pledges to #LoveYourEyes – at the heart of every World Sight Day is to pledge to #LoveYourEyes for World Sight Day. This year, we are focused on five million pledges, which equal five million voices demanding accessible eye care for themselves and others.
• Global Challenge – a call to the eye care sector to conduct screenings at schools, workplaces and parliaments around the world. To support these efforts IAPB is releasing expanded Love Your Eyes Kids resources for schools, carers and children, and Love Your Eyes at Work materials that help employers and workers take practical steps to protect vision in every workplace.

Over five successful years, the campaign has secured over 25 million pledges to Love Your Eyes, generated over 1 billion media impressions and continues to be an important milestone in the lead up to the first‑ever Global Summit for Eye Health, which will be held in Antigua and Barbuda on 2 November 2026.

Simon Darvill, IAPB Director of Communications, Campaigns and Events, said the 2026 campaign “comes at a pivotal moment for the sector, as countries prepare their commitments for the Global Summit for Eye Health. This year’s World Sight Day is not only about celebrating progress – it’s about building the momentum needed to deliver lasting change to end avoidable sight loss. I invite everyone to be part of the sectors biggest day for collective action and public engagement.”

World Sight Day is led by IAPB, championed by more than 250 member organisations, and supported by Love Your Eyes Global Partners, including Abbvie, Bayer, The Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, CBM, CooperVision, Cure Blindness Project, The Fred Hollows Foundation, Hoya Vision Care, Johnson & Johnson Vision, National Vision, Orbis International, RestoringVision, Roche, Safilo, Santen, Seva Foundation, Sightsavers and VisionSpring.

Visit iapb.world to explore campaign activations, and access campaign materials to start planning your #LoveYourEyes for World Sight Day campaigning.

Peter Holland, IAPB CEO and Simon Darvill, Director of Communications, Campaigns and Events are available for further comment. Contact Russell Guthrie at rguthrie@iapb.org

About IAPB

IAPB is the overarching alliance for the global eye health sector, with more than 250 member organisations in over 100 countries working together for a world where everyone has universal access to eye care. IAPB believes in a world in which no one is needlessly visually impaired, where everyone has access to the best possible standard of eye health; and where those with irreparable sight loss achieve their full potential. Our key priorities are global advocacy, campaigning on a different level, sharing knowledge, and strengthening the network. www.iapb.org

 About World Sight Day

World Sight Day is coordinated by IAPB and is an annual day of awareness, held on the second Thursday of October. It is an opportunity to focus the world’s attention on eye care. World Sight Day 2026 will be held on Thursday 8 October 2026.  For further information visit www.iapb.world

About Love Your Eyes

The Love Your Eyes campaign was launched as part of World Sight Day 2021, it is a year-round campaign to raise the profile of eye health, encouraging the public to take care of their own eye health and raise the profile of the 1.1billion people worldwide who have eye health conditions and do not have access to treatment.