HRH Duchess of Edinburgh meets Orbis staff Dr Alemayehu Sisay and Dr Dorris Macharia in Ethiopia
Eye health in the workplace was the key theme of World Sight Day (WSD) on October 12, led by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
As the global alliance for eye health, IAPB asked 200 member organisations across 100 countries to host sight screenings to engage employers and their staff about the importance of eye care.
More than 13 million pairs of eyes were tested in workplaces around the world as part of the Love Your Eyes at Work campaign, doubling the number pledged last year.
‘We know that eye health has a profound impact on the wellbeing, productivity, and safety of employees, and this WSD, we are committed to reinforcing the importance of eye health in the workplace,’ said Peter Holland, CEO of IAPB.
HRH Duchess of Edinburgh, global ambassador for the IAPB, visited Ethiopia to celebrate the work of the international eye care charity Orbis and participated in WSD festivities.
On WSD, she attended celebrations in Addis Ababa where more than 900 staff at Berhanena Selam Printing Enterprise received free eye tests.
Activities during the week included school screenings, simulation training for surgery, and a trachoma elimination conference in Addis Ababa with more than 40 organisations represented by over 100 guests.
Her Royal Highness delivered a keynote speech at the conference, highlighting the impact of trachoma on women, children, livelihoods and education. ‘So much has been achieved both here in Ethiopia and around the world.
But now is the time that we must all redouble our efforts if we are to achieve our aim of eliminating trachoma by the year 2030, which is a mere six years away,’ she said.
To coincide with WSD, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a health app called ‘WHOEyes’, which guided users through a series of prompts to assess their own eye health.
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.’
Blurred lines
The United Nations (UN) unveiled its first ever ‘blurred’ photo exhibition for WSD, supported by WHO, UN Friends of Vision and organised by the IAPB.
The 2030 In Sight exhibition showcased images (example below) connecting eye health to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and were displayed in the corridors of the UN New York headquarters between October 9-20.
Each image focused on a different SDG relating to eye health, with several of the images ‘blurred’ to mirror how they would be viewed by people with treatable eye conditions, such cataracts, glaucoma and myopia.
Ambassador Walton Webson, permanent representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN and UN Friends of Vision Group founder and co-chair, said: ‘2030 In Sight, is a powerful interpretation of the central messages and recommendations in the UN Resolution.
‘The images allow us to see the world through someone else’s eyes and to consider the implications that avoidable and treatable eye health conditions have for ending extreme poverty and hunger, accessing education and decent work, and reducing inequalities.’
The exhibition followed a ‘Value of Vision’ meeting where world leaders from countries including Antigua, Nepal and Bangladesh, heard that unaddressed poor sight costs the global economy $411bn in lost productivity each year.
This WSD, Specsavers released research suggesting that UK hybrid workers spent an average of 12 hours a day, or 60 hours of the working week, glued to screens. The survey of 2,000 hybrid workers found that people spent five of the 12 hours in front of laptops, four-and-a-half hours looking at mobile phones and three hours watching TV.
More than six out of 10 respondents said that checking their work emails on their mobile phones was the first thing they did each morning and they did not put their device down until around 10.30pm.
A further 77% of flexible workers had not accessed free eye care vouchers or tests and the survey indicated 57% were not aware employers were legally required to offer a free eye test to workers who used screens.
Eight out of 10 respondents also agreed that they suffered from tired eyes and headaches, potentially due to prolonged screen time.
Giles Edmonds, clinical services director at Specsavers, said: ‘Our eyes are not designed to be fixed on a single object for a long period of time, especially when focusing on laptops with small screens, tablets or smart devices.
'In rare cases, dry eyes syndrome can lead to more serious eye issues. But the good news is that there are simple solutions that can easily prevent eye strain and irritation and anyone who uses a screen for work, is entitled to a free eye test from their employer.’
Villa Vision
WSD marked a significant milestone for Aston Villa FC and Essilor’s joint Villa Vision eye health initiative, which raised awareness about eye health within the communities of Birmingham.
Since launching in September 2020, Villa Vision has delivered more than 10,500 individual interventions through a combination of workshops, vision screenings and eye tests during 60 primary school visits.
The initiative is part of the Villa Vision programme, run by the Aston Villa Foundation, the Premier League football club’s official charity, in collaboration with Essilor and Aston University.
More than 750 children were flagged for further investigation after initial vision screening and 240 received a full eye examination in the Villa Vision van, which is kitted out with optical testing equipment provided by Essilor.
Essilor donated lenses for 320 frames for children and half of the schools reported noticeably improved reading ability and mathematical capability. Almost two thirds (63%) also said children felt more confident with corrected vision.
Fredrik Jönsson, head of EssilorLuxottica Wholesale UK and Ireland, said: ‘We’re so delighted to be supporting such a worthwhile initiative and to be providing corrective lenses to these children.
‘It’s great to hear such positive feedback from schoolchildren about the impact corrected vision is having in the classroom, on their academic abilities, and on their overall general wellbeing.’
The Macular Society promoted WSD across its social media channels and chief executive Cathy Yelf said: ‘Macular disease is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK and ,as our population ages, more and more people are affected. It is a devastating condition, which has a profound impact on the lives of those living with the condition.
‘Days like WSD help shine a light on eye health, as well as conditions such as macular disease, which, despite its prevalence, many people have not heard of until they are diagnosed.’
Aston University and Ulster University chose WSD to announce the launch of a new clinician app for childhood myopia.
The Predicting Myopia Onset and Progression Risk Indicator (PreMO) followed Ulster University research showing that myopia is now twice as common as it was 50 years ago and that children are becoming short-sighted at a younger age.
PreMO used a data-driven approach to guide clinicians, patients and caregivers through the process of managing myopia, even identifying younger patients at risk of myopia. Clinicians can store and review patient data to review the progression of myopia over time and patient-friendly reports are generated to prompt conversations around managing myopia risks.
Aston University head of optometry Professor Wolffsohn said: ‘The app will support clinicians in predicting those children who will go myopic, to track their progress with myopia control treatments, to provide better communication to the child and their parents and guardians, and to personalise their eye health.’
Restoring sight
Ophthalmology provider Community Healthcare and Eye care (CHEC) Blackpool celebrated WSD after treating its 10,000th patient at the hospital (pictured below), since launching at the height of lockdown in 2020.
‘WSD is a stark reminder that we need to protect our eyesight and do everything we can to restore it for those who are struggling with visual impairments. Loss of sight really is life limiting, and we’re proud to help the NHS reduce waiting times so that people can access quality treatment when they need it,’ said Josey Bailey, commercial director at CHEC.
Headquartered in Preston, CHEC has more than 20 hospitals UK-wide, with a North-West stronghold through its Accrington, Blackpool and Preston hospitals.
Globally, Modo Eyewear announced the milestone of restoring the vision of 1.7 million children through its ‘Buy a frame – help a child see’ programme, in partnership with the Seva Foundation.
For every frame purchased, Modo provided free and comprehensive eye care for children in India and free prescription frames. Children diagnosed with other eye diseases were referred to the partner hospital for free treatment.
‘Since 2013, Modo Eyewear has been Seva’s key corporate partner in accelerating access to paediatric eye care services globally. Modo’s compassion, generosity and network has played a pivotal role in enabling Seva and our network of partners to provide world-class eye care services at scale,’ said Julie Nestingen, chief philanthropy officer at Seva.
Finally, social enterprise VisionSpring announced on WSD that it had screened the eyes of half a million factory workers in a coalition to improve worker wellbeing and livelihoods in apparel and footwear supply chains.
The widescale screenings in Bangladesh, India and Vietnam revealed one-in-three workers producing apparel and footwear was struggling with uncorrected vision.
VisionSpring has dispensed eyeglasses to 188,000 factory workers, 78% of whom received their first-ever pair. Eyewear retailer Warby Parker provided the frames as part of its ‘Buy a pair, give a pair’ programme, which has provided more than 13 million frames across 75 countries to date.
The Clear Vision Workplace alliance comprises leading businesses including Levi Strauss and VF Corporation, which owns NorthFace, Vans and Timberland, along with USAID and more than 150 manufacturers.
‘Serving half a million workers demonstrates that this life-changing intervention scales,’ said Ella Gudwin, CEO of VisionSpring.
‘There are many millions more workers in need of a pair of eyeglasses, an estimated 1.2 million garment workers in Bangladesh alone. We invite brands and manufacturers to join the alliance so we can give every one of them the glasses that will extend their careers and protect their livelihoods,’ she added.