United Nations Ambassadors and Global NGOs Dine in the Dark at the UN, Calling for Action as WHO Vision Report Predicts Skyrocketing Vision Loss Tied to 21st Century Population Aging

IAPB

The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) is an alliance of civil society organisations, corporates and professional bodies promoting eye health through advocacy, knowledge and partnerships.

Organisation: IAPB

The immersive dining experience featured a menu curated by Christine Hà, the first-ever blind contestant and winner of FOX’s MasterChef New York, NEW YORK (October 25, 2019) – On Wednesday night, the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA), the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), and the Permanent Mission of Antigua and…

September 30, 2019

Spearheading change in access to assistive technology: the GREAT Report

Zoe Gray

IAPB Advocacy Manager

Organisation: IAPB

The resolution WHA71.8 – Improving access to assistive technology calls upon WHO to prepare a global report on effective access to assistive technology (GREAT Report) by 2021. Complementing the World Report on Vision, the GREAT report will be a major tool in spearheading change to overcome the massive unmet need in access to assistive technologies,…

June 24, 2019

IAPB Western Pacific: Stronger Together

Drew Keys

Regional Program Manager, Western Pacific

Organisation: International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

“We have fifteen doctor, twenty three eye nurses and two technicians. But we only have one professor, so we’re just a small provincial hospital,” laments Dr Wang as he shows me around the Dali Hospital in Western Yunnan. “That’s why we’re so happy you came to visit us, so that people will know that anyway…

December 14, 2018

2018 in Review: Global Advocacy

Zoe Gray

IAPB Advocacy Manager

Organisation: IAPB

A key focus for IAPB advocacy in 2018 was contributing to the development of the World Report on Vision and planning for its advocacy and national-level launches. During the year, IAPB organised members’ webinars and consultations, and coordinated contributions to the report. IAPB also submitted to the consultation and co-authored a background paper with members, and…

December 13, 2018

2018 in Review: IAPB Western Pacific

Drew Keys

Regional Program Manager, Western Pacific

Organisation: International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

“But what are you doing here?” I got this question a lot as I wrote this, sitting in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Baatar (UB), where it was -27 degrees outside! “We’ve never had a meeting in December. Nobody comes in December!” And really, indeed - why would I come here in December? Simply: because this meeting…

December 13, 2018

2018 in Review: IAPB Africa

Simon Day

Regional Programme Coordinator

Organisation: International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)

2018 has been a fantastic year at the IAPB Africa office and our region as a whole. We’ve undertaken multi-level advocacy activities, held important workshops, seen the publication of the WHO AFRO Primary Eye Care Training Manual, moved the WHO Regional Core Competencies for Eye Heath Workers in the Africa Region document to the final…

December 13, 2018

2018 in Review: A Letter from the Vice President

Victoria Sheffield

President, International Eye Foundation and Vice-President, IAPB

Organisation: International Eye Foundation

Dear colleagues, IAPB has seen a number of changes over this fast-paced year! We welcomed Peter Holland as our new CEO who brings extensive international and management experience. He immediately dedicated time to speak with all members either in person or by phone, took on the strategic planning process for the Secretariat, and moved IAPB’s…

December 13, 2018

2018 in Review: New Beginnings at IAPB

Bob McMullan

President

Organisation: International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)

Over a billion people can’t see well, just because they lack a pair of glasses. This line has captured the imagination of the popular press this year—the New York Times, the Guardian and the Economist have all run articles exploring this fact and the context animating our impact. A number of IAPB members and partners have worked…

December 10, 2018

IAPB: A year in photos 2018

Emma Foote

Membership & Fundraising Officer

Organisation: IAPB

January IAPB Gender Equity work group established What a fantastic way to start the year! With The Fred Hollows Foundation, Brien Holden Vision Institute, Seva Foundation, Helen Keller International and Sightsavers at the helm, the group provides an important forum for raising awareness, sharing ideas and disseminating evidence on gender equity approaches. A New Ray…

November 28, 2018

An update on the World Report on Vision and WHO’s future areas of work

Megan McCoy

Technical Officer, Blindness and Deafness Prevention, Disability and Rehabilitation Unit

Organisation: World Health Organization

Greetings everyone. It has been a little while since you last heard from us, so we thought it would be good to provide an update on the World report on vision and some of our other work. As many of you know, we decided a few months ago, in consultation with the Editorial Committee, to…

October 3, 2018

World Report on Vision to release in 2019

IAPB

Organisation: IAPB

The World Report on Vision was due to be launched on World Sight Day, 11 October. The WHO team have announced that the document has been progressing well, but there are some areas where work is still ongoing. So, in consultation with the Editorial Committee, the WHO have decided to delay the release of the…

November 1, 2017

The Future Of Eye Care In A Changing World–Call For Papers

Megan McCoy

Technical Officer, Blindness and Deafness Prevention, Disability and Rehabilitation Unit

Organisation: World Health Organization

Greetings everyone! The Bulletin of the World Health Organization has recently released a call for papers for a special theme issue on vision, and we want to make sure that everyone knows about it. The Bulletin is one of the world’s leading public health journals. It is a monthly, peer-reviewed journal with a focus on developing…

July 14, 2017

Tracking progress on the World Report on Vision

Megan McCoy

Technical Officer, Blindness and Deafness Prevention, Disability and Rehabilitation Unit

Organisation: World Health Organization

The WHO is asking for ideas and suggestions on the important topics the World Report on Vision should address. The deadline is 23 July.

June 21, 2017

Charting the World Report on Vision

Etienne Krug

Director, Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention

Organisation: World Health Organization

I recently participated in a side event on eye health held during the 70th World Health Assembly (WHA), where several Member States issued a call for a World Report on Vision. In my time at WHO I have overseen the development of several world reports – on violence prevention, road safety and diabetes among others…

June 21, 2017

World Health Assembly: A Side-Event, and a Call for a New Report

Johannes Trimmel

Director of Advocacy and Interim CEO

Organisation: IAPB

(Photo credit: ORBIS UK) Australia and Burkina Faso, Indonesia and Czech Republic, Guatemala and Austria, Kenya and Cook Island, Ethiopia and Pakistan, China, Malta, and Tonga: You may wonder why I have chosen to start this post with this list of very diverse countries. Well, they co-hosted a Side Event at this year’s World Health…