Antigua and Barbuda is spearheading a global effort to improve eye and vision health.

Antigua and Barbuda hosted a High-Level Breakfast meeting on the penultimate day of the United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting aimed to discuss the issue of vision and eye health, which is a major concern affecting countries worldwide.

The event was attended by global leaders, including Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, who wore Love Your Eyes glasses to symbolize his support for accessible, affordable and available eye care for all.

The Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Walton Webson, was also present at the meeting as a leading advocate for the blind and visually impaired.

The Breakfast meeting identified the importance of global leadership in implementing the UN General Assembly Resolution Vision for Everyone.

The attendees, including other global leaders, recognized that improving access to eye health is a practical, achievable and cross-cutting sustainable development issue.

Therefore, supportive agencies at the United Nations and beyond are lending their support to the effort.

In his address to the forum, Prime Minister Browne emphasized the significance of healthy vision as a non-controversial issue, which can be solved this decade.

He further stated that eye health is more than a health issue; it’s a sustainable development issue.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of Nepal noted that improving eye health is a crucial step towards building a more equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future.

Meanwhile, St. Kitts Prime Minister Terrance Drew expressed his gratitude to Antigua and Barbuda and Prime Minister Browne for their leadership role in founding the Friends of Vision group at the UN.

Together with the governments of Bangladesh and Ireland, they have led the way in ensuring that vision is firmly placed within the SDG Agenda.