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The Fred Hollows Foundation is partnering with UN Women to launch a landmark policy brief that calls for urgent action to address the gender gap in eye health.
The joint policy brief ‘No Woman Left Behind: Closing the Gender and Inclusion Gap in Eye Health’, launched in New York on 19 September, provides clear evidence of gender disparities in eye health and highlights the barriers women face in accessing eye care.
The Foundation’s Global Advocacy Executive Director Jennifer Gersbeck said the brief revealed a major public health concern and development issue that impacts 609 million women and girls globally.
“Women and girls make up 55 per cent of the world’s blind and vision impaired,” Ms Gersbeck said.
“We know that gender inequality can increase women’s susceptibility to blindness and vision impairment – and in turn, women’s blindness and vision impairment can reinforce and help perpetuate gender inequality.
“We need to break this cycle.”
Key barriers facing women include care responsibilities which make it difficult to prioritise their own health and gender norms that can limit a woman’s mobility in communities where they rely on men to chaperon them.
Women also have a lack of representation in eye health services, with World Health Organization data showing that they comprise 70 percent of the global healthcare workforce but hold less than 25 percent of senior roles.
Ms Gersbeck said that, together with UN Women, The Foundation called for greater voice, leadership representation, resourcing and rights-based policies to accelerate gender equity in health.
“Better access to health services for all women and girls is necessary, but it is not enough,” she said.
“We must challenge and remove the barriers that stop women from occupying seats at the decision-making table.
“Meeting women’s health needs and eliminating gender inequality are moral imperatives and fundamental human rights.”
Ms Gersbeck, along with Australia’s ambassador for Regional Health Security Dr Stephanie Williams and Dr Ciku Mathenge, one of Africa’s leading ophthalmologists trained by The Foundation, will speak at the policy launch.
The joint policy brief is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
Prevent Blindness is declaring February as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Month in an effort to provide education and various expert-approved resources to the public and professionals. This year’s AMD and Low Vision Month is generously supported by Gold Sponsor EyePoint, Inc.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, AMD is the most common cause of severe loss of eyesight among people 50 and older. And, about 4 million Americans live with low vision, which is defined as chronic visual impairment that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or medical treatments.
AMD affects the central part of the retina called the “macula.” When AMD damages the macula, the center part of a person’s vision may become blurred or wavy, and a blind spot may develop. Early detection and treatment of AMD is key to helping to prevent significant vision loss.
Two types of AMD include:
“As our population ages, the number of individuals impacted by AMD continues to grow. Many will face difficulties doing the things we sometimes take for granted, such as reading, seeing faces, and driving,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “Our robust collection of resources on AMD and low vision are intentionally created to help minimize vision loss and maintain independence for those impacted by AMD while providing effective tools to the public and providers on ways to save sight.”
As part of AMD and Low Vision Month, Prevent Blindness offers the free AMD GuideMe app. This resource provides a customized overview of AMD along with a tailored resource list and suggested steps to help save sight from the eye disease specific to the individual using the GuideMe app. Prevent Blindness offers additional educational resources including fact sheets and shareable social media graphics in English and Spanish, and dedicated webpages.
New this year, as part of the Prevent Blindness ASPECT Patient Engagement Program Member Spotlight Series, graduate Laurie S., shares her experience with AMD, including her family history with the eye disease, how it impacts her daily activities including the ability to read music, and the importance of support groups “Age-related Macular Degeneration: Laurie’s Story.”
Videos in the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Series include:
The Prevent Blindness “Living Well With Low Vision” program provides useful information to those with low vision, their care partners and healthcare professionals. Content includes self-help guides, resources for vision loss and mental wellness, information on clinical trials, and much more. Living Well With Low Vision is supported by grants from Amgen and Genentech.
For more information on AMD, please visit PreventBlindness.org/amd. For information on geographic atrophy, please visit PreventBlindness.org/geographic-atrophy.
And, for more information on Living Well With Low Vision, or other general eye health information, please visit lowvision.PreventBlindness.org.
For a listing of organizations and services that provide financial assistance for vision care in English or Spanish, please visit https://preventblindness.org/vision-care-financial-assistance-information.
