Innovative approaches needed for vision care

Vision impairment occurs when an eye condition affects the visual system and compromises sight.

- TEODORO B. PADILLA

While many people assume that losing vision is simply part of growing old, the reality is far more hopeful. If detected early, most causes of vision impairment are preventable, treatable, or manageable. Yet across the world, and in the Philippines, millions still lose their sight unnecessarily.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), everyone will experience at least one eye condition in their lifetime that requires appropriate care. Globally, the leading causes of vision impairment and blindness include uncorrected refractive errors, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), conditions for which effective interventions already exist.

In the Philippines, the scale of the challenge is clear. The Philippine Eye Disease Study conducted by the Philippine Eye Research Institute found that cataract remains the leading cause of vision impairment, affecting around 1.1 million Filipinos, with roughly 330,000 requiring cataract surgery. Nearly 400,000 Filipinos have uncorrected refractive errors, more than 280,000 live with glaucoma, and close to 210,000 suffer from maculopathy and diabetic retinopathy. These findings underscore the critical role of regular eye examinations in detecting disease early and preventing avoidable blindness.

The burden is particularly heavy in Asia-Pacific (APAC), which accounts for nearly two-thirds of all moderate-to-severe vision impairment cases worldwide. With ageing populations and rising diabetes prevalence, two major risk factors for vision loss, the urgency to address preventable vision impairment in the region has never been greater.