Making Vision Count at the 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum

Ten years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the 2025 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), taking place this July in New York under the theme Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda, will assess progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and identify strategies to accelerate their achievement over the next five years. The UN Friends of Vision group (FoV)—a coalition of Member States, UN agencies, and partners—is working to ensure that eye health is meaningfully integrated into two critical components of the 2025 Forum: the in-depth thematic reviews of SDG 3 (health), SDG 5 (gender equality), and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth); and the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), a global platform for Member States to report on national progress towards eye health and the position of eyecare within the global framework on sustainable development. 

As part of its engagement in the SDG in-depth reviews, the Friends of Vision Secretariat developed and circulated across the UN a set of targeted policy briefs articulating how improved access to eye care is central to achieving SDG 3, SDG 5, and SDG 8. The briefs detail how vision loss undermines efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (Target 3.8), deepens gender inequality, and constrains inclusive economic growth. The briefs were designed to equip governments, UN agencies, and stakeholders with practical, evidence-based recommendations to integrate eye health into both national policies and multilateral discussions during the 2025 HLPF. 

Notably, eye health is beginning to gain visibility in the VNR process—an important milestone for the sector. Between 2016 and 2022, no country referenced eye health in its VNR. That changed in 2023, when four countries reported on national progress in addressing vision loss, followed by seven countries in 2024. This growing inclusion reflects a shift in awareness and underscores the value of coordinated global advocacy. As countries prepare their 2025 reviews, the FoV is working to build on this momentum and encourage even wider reporting on eye health. 

In January 2025, the FoV Secretariat participated in the UN DESA Virtual Knowledge Exchange for 2025 VNR countries, an invitation-only session offering insight into how countries are preparing their national reviews. Led by representation from the Fred Hollows Foundation, the event provided a valuable platform to raise the profile of eye health, share targeted advocacy tools and examples, and engage directly with national VNR focal points. Since the session, Secretariat members have followed up with individual coordinators and planning offices to provide updated technical guidance, contextualized materials, and concrete examples of eye health integration from recent VNRs. This sustained engagement has strengthened country-level relationships and positioned the FoV as a trusted resource for supporting the inclusion of eye health within national SDG reporting processes ahead of the 2025 HLPF 

As preparations for HLPF continue, civil society has a critical role to play—by engaging VNR processes, contributing data and case studies, and holding governments accountable to their commitments under UN General Assembly resolution 75/310 Vision for Everyone: accelerating action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. With five years remaining to achieve the SDGs, now is the moment to elevate eye health as a cross-cutting development priority—and ensure no one is left behind in the effort to build a more inclusive, equitable, and vision-friendly world.