Advocacy to Action: Workshop on Evidence-Based Advocacy

Last week, over 50 people came together to explore and discuss evidence based advocacy in an online workshop as part of the Advocacy to Action programme.

Through a combination of presentations and group discussions, participants explored the latest and emerging evidence related to burden and impact of vision loss. The focus was on how to employ evidence most effectively when advocating for eye health.

We were privileged to hear four thought provoking presentations; Professor Rupert Bourne, Coordinator, Vision Loss Expert Group (VLEG) and Global Vision Database (GVD), explored the latest data on the Global Burden of Vision Loss and the contribution VLEG data has had on informing the World Report on Vision and powering the Vision Atlas. Professor Matthew Burton, Co-chair of Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health, presented the key advocacy messages from the Lancet Global Health commission on Global Eye Health: Vision Beyond 2020 and explored how the Commission carefully considered the evidence required for eye health advocacy. Melissa Gong Mitchell, Executive Director of the Global Coalition on Aging explained how the International Vision Health Scorecard was designed to inform advocacy for and integration of eye care services and shared some top tips on effectively using evidence for advocacy purposes.  Duratul Ain Hussin, Senior Principal Assistant Director of the Allied Health Sciences Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, representing World Council of Optometry, shared experiences of using evidence to inform the advocacy for eye health services in Malaysia.

The group activities saw IAPB facilitators, Anthea Burnett, Holly Aindow, Jessica Crofts Lawrence, Jissa James, Jude Stern, Simon Day, Yuddha Sapkota, and Zoe Gray working with the participants to discuss various types of evidence and exploring the Vision Atlas, which can be used as a powerful tool to support eye health advocacy.

Watch our experts discussing these questions and learn more about the workshop from the highlights.:

• Where does evidence fit in advocacy?
• Why is the prevalence data falling when the numbers affected by vision loss are increasing?
• Why is improving eye health and decreasing vision impairment an important enabler for achieving Sustainable Development Goals?
• Why is it important to craft a narrative and messaging that inspire advocacy and action?
• How does evidence connects ‘what we know with ‘what we want’?

We welcome you to join the next session in the 6 part series, ‘Beyond Eyes’, a webinar scheduled on 1 June 2021.