Why Early Eye Health Intervention for Children Can’t Wait

Across the world, children’s vision is under threat. A silent crisis is growing as screen time increases, outdoor play decreases, and our health systems fail to keep pace with these societal shifts. Myopia is rising at an alarming rate, and it is predicted to affect 50% of school-leavers by 2035 in some countries. Yet, many children are still falling through the cracks of fragmented and inequitable eye care systems. Significant gaps exist in prevention and early intervention.

Despite strong evidence showing that regular vision screenings and timely intervention can drastically improve educational outcomes and reduce long-term health burdens, such services remain inconsistent, underfunded, or entirely absent in many countries. Preventable vision loss continues to disadvantage children, especially those from low-income, rural, migrant, or otherwise marginalised communities.

Critical data to inform planning is often missing or underutilised, making it difficult to monitor trends and design targeted responses. Many systems lack mechanisms to track children’s eye health over time or connect screenings to appropriate referral and treatment pathways. Additionally, the role of non-formal education and community-based interventions like outdoor play and youth organisations remains undervalued, with few frameworks in place to measure or support their contribution to eye health. And while digital tools hold promise, there are still too few solutions that align technology with the needs of healthy vision development.

While there are isolated examples of best practice, such as integrating vision screenings into school health programs, these are not the norm and are often not sustained. And while we now have powerful tools and resources, what’s lacking is coordinated action, policy prioritisation, and public investment in preventive eye care for children. Encouragingly, we are also seeing advances in research and early intervention approaches that aim to slow the progression of myopia in children, though their integration into broader public health strategies remains in early stages in many settings.

Next week in Kathmandu, alongside the IAPB 2030 IN SIGHT LIVE event, a diverse group of advocates, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers will come together to explore these issues at a regional roundtable on early intervention in myopia. It’s an opportunity to learn from each other, build momentum, and co-create a shared agenda for change because no child should be held back by something as preventable as poor vision.

Image credit: Boy with glasses/Keith Kalu