The Vision Impact Institute welcomes the release of two new complementary and aligned reports on the state of vision that raise awareness of the need for people-centered eye health servicesgloballyand highlight effective response strategies.The firstever WHO World Report on Visionraisesawareness of the global magnitude of eye conditionsand their impact on people’s lives. The report states thatat least 2.2 billionneed vision correction and don’t have it. This burden weighsheavily on low-and middle-income countries, older people and rural communities. The Essilor Report: Eliminating Poor Vision in a Generationoutlines solutions to address the challenge in one generation.

According to these reportsthese actions are recommended:

1.Make eye care an integral part of universal health coverage

2.Implementintegrated people-centered eye care in health systems

3.Promotehigh-qualityimplementation and health systems research complementingexisting evidence for effective eye care interventions

4.Monitor trends and evaluate progress towards implementing integratedpeople centered eye care

5.Raise awareness andempower people and communities abouteye care needs“Both of these reports are crucial for the future of vision healthas we find ourselves on the cusp of the year 2020,” saysKristan Gross, Global ExecutiveDirector. “This information can equip and empower advocates with a broader understanding of global vision health needs, and outline concrete actions to eliminatepoor vision by 2050.”

About the Vision Impact Institute

The Vision Impact Institute's mission is to raise awareness ofthe importance of vision correction and protection to make good vision a global priority. Its Advisory Board is comprised of sixindependent international experts: Pr. Kevin Frick(United States), Pr. Clare Gilbert (United Kingdom), Mr. Allyala Nandakumar (United States),Mr. Arun Bharat Ram(India), Dr. Serge Resnikoff (Switzerland),and Dr. Wang Wei (China).

The Vision Impact Institute is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which receives support from the Vision for Life Fund from Essilor, the world leader in ophthalmic optics. The Vision Impact Institute hosts an interactive web platform, a unique database of researchatvisionimpactinstitute.org.