World Optometry Week Celebration March 19-25
Expanding Optometry’s Role… The Time is Now!
World Optometry day is observed every 23rd of March to celebrate and advocate the growing optometry profession.
It was first celebrated in 1986 by the then-International Optical League (IOL).
The World Optometry Day, March 23, highlights not only optometry as a health care profession but the contribution of the profession in supporting access to eye health care as a human right. This year, the World Council of Optometry (WCO) will celebrate World Optometry Week from March 19 – 25, and specifically World Optometry Day, Thursday, March 23, with the theme “Expanding Optometry’s Role… The Time is Now!”
WCO President Assoc. Prof. Peter Hendicott said, “World Optometry Day provides an opportunity for optometry to reflect on its current and possible future roles in expanding access to quality and equitable eye care. This calls for optometry to consider our responsibilities and potential roles within healthcare delivery systems, to identify how we can make a maximal contribution to reducing the burden of eye disease and its impact. We need to ensure that optometrists in Kenya and worldwide possess the necessary skills, knowledge, and competencies to effectively move our profession forward to better serve our communities.”
With the theme, “Expanding Optometry’s Role… The Time is Now!”, WCO seeks to advocate for stronger global access to eye care and ensure that optometrists around the globe have the education and skills to thrive and contribute within their respective healthcare systems. Recent resolutions of the World Health Assembly and United Nations have adopted eye care targets that are ambitious, yet certainly achievable, through a collaborative approach among all eyecare professions.
To achieve improved eyecare in Kenya, all optometrists and representative organizations must work proactively with other eye care professions, along with the government, to make eye care accessible, equitable, affordable, and effective… the time is now!
Additionally, to celebrate World Optometry Day on March 23, WCO encourages Optometrist in Kenya to download and share the “Committed to Eye Care” graphic from the link (shorturl.at/byFTX), reaffirming the individual commitment of optometrists across the globe to advance accessible eye care.
Except from World Council of Optometry (WCO) Website.