2020 in Review: Looking to the future

The year 2020 was intended to be a landmark year for the eye health sector – but the culmination of VISION 2020 was overshadowed by the massive impact of the pandemic. What a year! Millions of people, including staff, donors and supporters, have caught and suffered from the virus. Millions more have seen severe setbacks to their health care
access. And yet, in the face of such sudden adversity, the eye health sector in general, and the IAPB membership in particular have risen to the challenge.

Despite the pandemic, we have been finding ways to mark and celebrate a critical era in eye care. VISION 2020: The Right to Sight transformed the sector’s approach to eye health. It brought many new actors – including me – into the sector. As we began to look for ways to mark the milestone, IAPB has been putting together a set of blogposts from key actors and players who contributed to VISION 2020. We also have a set of Vision Excellence awards to celebrate the efforts of the many individuals who played a major role in the development and implementation of VISION 2020. This was a truly sector-wide initiative and there are many individuals whose work made all the difference – our sincere gratitude to them all.

The pandemic has seen IAPB’s online efforts flourish in new directions: we are now a virtual platform. 2020 has amplified trends and highlighted our resilience. Work has begun on a new strategic direction for the next decade to succeed VISION 2020. It will bring together our hopes and aspirations, along with a growing desire for an equitable world where eye
health enables prosperity and well-being. Here’s wishing for a better tomorrow.