Eye Health and the SDGs

Improving eye health services is essential to making progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3, focused on good health and well-being, and SDG target 3.8: “Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all."

Eye health is also linked to more than half of the 17 SDGs.

Goal 1: No poverty

90% of sight loss occurs in low- and middle-income countries.

Goal 2: Zero hunger

Unaddressed vision impairment traps people in poverty and leads to hunger and malnutrition.

Goal 3: Good health and well-being

Unmanaged eye health is inextricably linked to increased mortality, lower levels of well-being, and higher rates of depression.

Goal 4: Quality education

Children with vision impairment have poorer educational outcomes and are more likely to be excluded from schools.

Goal 5: Increased gender equity

Women have worse access to eye health services and are 12% more likely to suffer sight loss than men.

Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth

Vision impairment stops people from accessing quality work and results in lost economic productivity locally, nationally, and globally.

Goal 10: Reduced inequalities

Women, people with disabilities, indigenous people, refugees, and migrants are those most affected by poor eye health.

Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities

Poor vision increases the risk of road traffic deaths and injuries, affecting millions around the world.

Goal 13: Climate action

The health sector, including eye care, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and has other impacts on the environment.

Goal 17: Partnership

The Goals cannot be delivered without partnership with a broad range of coalitions and work with leading organizations, including the eye health sector.