Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, has announced the first ever Global Summit for Eye Health to be held on November 2, 2026, inviting heads of government, ministers and business leaders to convene in St. John’s to prioritize eye health. The Summit, hosted by the government of Antigua and Barbuda, in technical collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), and supported by global health alliance for eye health the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), is the first event of its kind dedicated to accelerating political, financial and cross-sector commitment to eye health worldwide, the announcement said.
The Global Summit for Eye Health will convene senior leaders from government, private and public sectors, NGOs and funding institutions to drive progress for eye health for all under three pillars: act, allocate, accelerate—catalyzing commitments to integrate eye health into national development plans, increase sustainable financing and scale proven solutions, according to the announcement. Organizers also said the event will serve as a moment of accountability and ambition, challenging leaders to translate commitments into tangible progress for communities around the world.
“Five years on from the UN Resolution on Vision, the Summit will focus on practical commitments that expand access to affordable, quality eyecare services and strengthen health systems to meet rising demand,” said Peter Holland, chief executive of IAPB.
More than 2 billion people are living with poor sight and for more than 1 billion of those people, their sight loss could have been avoided or treated, according to the IAPB and the Summit’s website. New research in The Value of Vision: The Case for Investing in Eye Health from the IAPB suggests if action was taken to reach the 1 billion people living with avoidable sight loss, the boost to the world economy would be $447 billion annually, resulting in 13 million extra years of schooling, 22 million more people employed, and 304 million people relieved of unpaid caregiving, predominantly women.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Edinburgh, who is global ambassador for the IAPB, recently hosted a reception at St James’s Palace bringing together international dignitaries and members of the eye health sector to commemorate the official launch of the Global Summit for Eye Health. Through her work with IAPB, HRH has engaged directly with eye health programs, practitioners and beneficiaries around the world, highlighting the life-changing impact of restoring sight and strengthening health systems, the announcement said.
“This is not only a profound human challenge—it is an economic one,” said prime minister Browne in a video call to the gathering at St. James’s Palace in London via video link. “Because the evidence is clear: Expanding access to vision care could generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic returns annually. It would create millions of jobs, and unlock substantial gains in education, productivity and well-being. Investing in eye health is not charity. It is an investment in inclusive growth, resilience and shared prosperity—particularly for small states like Antigua and Barbuda.”
“The agenda of eyecare has gained significant momentum on the global health agenda in recent years, with the adoption of United Nations and World Health Assembly resolutions,” said Dévora Kestel, WHO’s director, noncommunicable diseases and mental health. “The Global Summit on Eye Health provides an opportunity to support the translation of these global commitments into country action.”
As of press time, the Global Summit for Eye Health has several high impact partners including CBM (Christian Blind Mission), The Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, CooperVision, Cure Blindness Project, The Fred Hollows Foundation, National Vision, RestoringVision, Seva Foundation and Sightsavers.
“By bringing leaders together in Antigua and Barbuda we hope that countries, businesses and civil society make formal public commitments to take specific actions, allocate resources, or achieve measurable targets in pursuit of our shared goal of ending avoidable sight loss,” said IAPB’s Holland. “We hope the Summit will serve as a clear expression of political and organization will, providing a benchmark for accountability long into the future.”