IAPB turns global attention to eye health in the workplace on World Sight Day

As the world marks World Sight Day, we are thrilled to focus global attention on the importance of prioritising eye health in the workplace as part of this year’s Love Your Eyes campaign.

We celebrate over 13 million pledges from individuals and organisations to love their eyes, which smashed our 10 million pledge target and is over double the number pledged last year. The #LoveYourEyes pledges are leading to greater public awareness of the importance of taking care of your eye health.

As the global alliance for eye health, we asked our almost 200 member organisations spanning 100 countries to host sight screenings in workplaces, helping to engage employers and their staff in the importance of caring for your eyes at work.

The day has been celebrated globally, with events and workplace screenings being held in offices, at trucker stops and for security workers and street cleaners from Nepal to New York.

In addition to these global celebrations, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh, Global Ambassador for the IAPB, is currently visiting Ethiopia to celebrate the transformative work of the international eye care charity, Orbis and participate in national World Sight Day festivities on 12 October.

The focus on eye health in the workplace follows the release of a report by The International Labour Organization (ILO) and IAPB that stresses the importance of protecting workers’ eyesight. According to Eye Health and the World of Work, eye health significantly affects labour markets with workers with vision impairment being 30 per cent less likely to be employed, compared to those without.

This year’s Love Your Eyes at Work campaign and World Sight Day celebrations call on employers everywhere to do more to protect the eye health of workers globally.

“We know that eye health has a profound impact on the wellbeing, productivity, and safety of employees, and this World Sight Day, we are committed to reinforcing the importance of eye health in the workplace. The Love Your Eyes at Work campaign and World Sight Day celebrations act as a timely reminder to us all of the vital role our eyes can play in helping us reach our full potential at work and beyond,” said Peter Holland CEO of IAPB.

“In a world where, for many, equitable access to eye care remains a distant reality, pledging to ‘Love Your Eyes’ and hosting workplace vision screenings act as a powerful form of advocacy. The more than 13 million who have embraced their commitment and the dozens of organisations who have screened workers globally are standing as champions for more than a billion people worldwide who lack adequate access to eye care. Their action is a resounding call for change, amplifying the importance of making eye care a global priority,” added Holland.

To coincide with World Sight Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the release of ‘WHOeyes’, an innovative health app that guides users through a series of prompts to assess their own eye health.

Speaking about the app, Stuart Keel, Technical Officer, Vision and Eye Care Programme, said “The WHOeyes app is a perfect complement to World Sight Day activities happening globally. The app, much like the Love Your Eyes campaign, promotes proactive eye care which is a vital step towards addressing the huge unmet vision needs on a global scale.”

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Individuals are invited to pledge to #LoveYourEyes on World Sight Day and add their name to the millions of individuals who are prioritising their eye health.

WHOEyes is available for download at the App Store and Google Play.