Eye health gains ground at United Nations High-Level Political Forum in New York
Significant progress was made to elevate eye health as a development issue at the recent High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced in 2015 by the United Nations. The 17 goals outline a global commitment to achieving sustainable development, improve health, boost economic growth and tackle climate change by 2030. Although eye health does not have a dedicated SDG, The Fred Hollows Foundation advocates that eye health uplifts broader health and development indicators.
Sophie Plumridge, Head of Advocacy Coordination and Engagement at The Fred Hollows Foundation emphasised, “Since 2018, The Foundation’s position has recognised eye health as a cross-cutting issue across the SDGs, urging countries and the eye health sector to take meaningful actions toward the 2030 agenda.”
Research conducted by The Foundation between 2019 to 2023 highlighted that eye health contributes to several key SDGs.
Putting eye health on the global agenda
In 2018, the UN Friends of Vision group was formed to advance eye health within the UN system. Bringing together more than 50 countries and supported by a network of eye health NGOs including The Fred Hollows Foundation, Friends of Vision aims to elevate eye health at both national and global levels.
The Friends of Vision group encourages countries to include eye health in their Voluntary National Review (VNR) reports presented at the High-Level Political Forum. However, eye health remains underrepresented in these reports due to the lack of specific eye health indicators in the SDG monitoring framework. Notable exceptions include Australia in 2018 and recent mentions by Tanzania, Kuwait, and Croatia in 2023.
In 2021, the World Health Assembly endorsed new global targets for eye health: Effective Cataract Surgical Coverage and Effective Refractive Error Coverage. Additionally, Resolution 75/310 on ‘Vision for Everyone: Accelerating Action Towards Achieving the SDGs’ was adopted by the 75th UN General Assembly, marking a pivotal moment for eye health within the UN framework.
The resolution encourages member countries to address eye health in their VNRs. In 2024, seven countries, representing 20% of all reporting nations, included eye health in their VNRs. Lao PDR and Kenya included substantial language on eye health, while Azerbaijan, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Mauritius, and Mexico also included eye health in their reports.
Amanda Huang, Cluster Director for China, Cambodia and Lao PDR at The Fred Hollows Foundation said, “Engaging with the Lao PDR Government, SDG reporting mechanisms and the Ministry of Health was critical to including eye health information in the report. This was a great opportunity for the Lao PDR to show their commitment to eye health and report on progress.”
Looking to the future
The fact that eye health reporting to the UN has been scaled up this year reflects growing recognition of eye health as a key development issue, and supports a number of SDGs, including no poverty, good health and wellbeing, reduced inequalities and partnerships for the goals. Sustaining this momentum, 27 countries have already committed to reporting on eye health in 2025. Key strategies for the coming years include working with the UN to integrate eye health across VNRs, continuing to advocate for the inclusion of eye health indicators in the SDG framework, and engaging in the Summit of the Future process.
Looking ahead to 2025, as a review of SDG indicators approaches, The Fred Hollows Foundation remains committed to enhancing the visibility and impact of eye health in global sustainable development.