TY - JOUR T1 - Does the Current Global Health Agenda Lack Vision? JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-22-00091 VL - 11 IS - 1 SP - e2200091 AU - Sam L. Forrest AU - Carmel L. Mercado AU - Cyril M. Engmann AU - Andrew W. Stacey AU - Luxme Hariharan AU - Sadaf Khan AU - Michelle T. Cabrera Y1 - 2023/02/28 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/11/1/e2200091.abstract N2 - Key MessagesDespite the successes of the VISION 2020 global initiative, large economic and societal consequences still exist across the life span from vision impairment and blindness, which have not yet been addressed by the global health community.There remains a lack of reliable global data on vision health, especially in the case of childhood blindness and vision impairment.Historically, vision has been poorly represented in global health budgeting and finance, which objectively reflects its lack of prioritization on the overall global health agenda.We need greater investment in cost-effective strategies to prevent and treat a rapidly increasing global burden of ocular disease because of an aging and changing population.Visual impairment represents the third leading cause of disability worldwide.1 In 2020, an estimated 1 billion individuals lived with preventable or treatable visual impairment globally, with 90% of them living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).2 Health inequities result in a greater burden of blindness and vision impairment among women and ethnic minorities in all regions of the world.3,4 Visual impairment costs patients, their families, and communities worldwide more than US$3 trillion annually.5 Thus, the burden of visual impairment not only affects sight but also hinders the development and progress of entire communities and the broader society.Because of increased global life expectancy and declining child mortality, global health strategies have expanded to include a “thrive” agenda, addressing chronic disease and disability in addition to survival.6 As part of that effort, VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, a World Health Organization (WHO) and International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness global initiative launched in 1999, aimed to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020.3,7 Although it may have fallen short of its highly ambitious aim statement, VISION 2020 was the first collaborative and interdisciplinary … ER -