Today, October 9, 2025 is World Sight Day. For World Sight Day, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) Love Your Eyes campaign has shown how the world can benefit from prioritising eye health and urging everyone to love their eyes by getting an eye test. Approximately 90% of sight loss is preventable or avoidable, according to IAPB. The personal and economic costs of sight loss are wide-ranging, including unemployment, lower educational attainment, reduced income, increased caregiving burden that predominantly falls to women, mental ill health, and increased risk of injury and illness.
Peter Holland, CEO of the IAPB, says:
“Sight loss is a truly universal problem that impacts every part of our lives. But we have clear solutions. Most sight loss can be prevented with simple and affordable interventions like expanding sight tests, providing glasses and improving cataract surgery. This World Sight Day, we urge everyone, from governments and businesses to schools and families, to make eye health a priority. The evidence is clear: by investing in vision, we invest in our future.”
In a world where around 1 billion people live with avoidable vision loss, protecting and prioritising eye health has never been more important. Regular eye checks remain one of the simplest ways to safeguard sight, while broader systemic solutions are essential to ensure everyone, everywhere, has access to the care they need. By valuing our vision and encouraging others to do the same, we can help drive change, unlock human potential, and build a healthier, more productive future.”
The IAPB is the voice of global eye health, uniting nearly 300 eye health organisations in over 100 countries, including eye health professionals, private and public eye health service providers, universities and charitable organisations. As a global alliance, IAPB members advocate to make eye care services available, accessible and affordable for all.
In Australia, we can prioritize our eye health everyday by following some simple steps:
And for the little people in our lives:
Happy World Sight Day 2025
