The European Coalition for Vision (ECV) has issued a statement regretting the lack of data on vision impairment outlined in the report Health at a glance: Europe 2014 and called for more harmonised data collection around Europe at EU level to provide better policy advice to decision-makers.
The statement said: 'Vision is a vital part of the health dimension that is too often neglected. ECV’s objective is promote a EU eye health indicator that would address this issue. European Coalition for Vision welcomes the report presented on December 3 by the commissioner for health and food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis. The report, based mainly on the European Core Health Indicators (ECHI), highlights key trends in health, providing a state of play of Europe’s health.'
Chair of ECV, Peter Ackland, stated: 'This report is essential as it provides a good overview of the state of health in the member states. We call on the Commission and Member States to develop and promote a EU eye health indicator, that would complement the data on health to include the field of vision – that would help stimulate further public policy actions in the eye health domain'.