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Advocacy as a tool for scaling up political and professional commitment in VISION 2020 Dr. Abdulaziz AlRajhi Executive Co-Chair, IAPB- EMR Dr. Mansur Rabiu Director of Programs
Advocacy as a tool for scaling up political and professional commitment in VISION 2020
Dr. Abdulaziz AlRajhiExecutive Co-Chair, IAPB-EMR
Dr. Mansur Rabiu Director of Programs
AdvocacyAdvocacy is the process of influencing
people to create change.Advocacy uses information in deliberate
and strategic ways to change perceptions and to influence decision-making
Advocacy ≠ educationBasic principle:
WHO Advocacy
If you do not ASK for it, you will not GET it.
Advocacy to WHO and national governments: Two WHA resolutions
a. WHA 56.26 in 2003b. WHA 59.25 in 2006
Action plan for avoidable blindness 2009
WHO regional structure recognizes PB Development of of follow up action
plan 2013 -2019
Successes of Vision 2020Most achievements of Vision 2020 may be attributed to
successful advocacy efforts.
Political commitment as result of Advocacy to National governments 107 countries have formed national VISION 2002
committees 135 countries have done a VISION 2020 workshop 91 countries have a national eye care plan Increasing public awareness and use of eye health-care
services. Increased provision of high-quality, sustainable eye care
at least in some countries
Professionals commitments Many ophthalmic societies are now more
involved in national PB programs in terms of planning and implementation.
Regional; Like MEACO’s “PB Committee”International; Like ICO’s “‘uncorrected refractive error task force”.
Many residency programs have started including Community Ophthalmology within their residency training curricula.
Inclusion of eye health courses in scientific meetings and conferences
Corporate Commitment Engagement of pharmaceutical companies –
Merk, Pfizer, MSD, etc. in support of eye health through drugs donation
Engagement of financial institutions like SCB, IDB, Deutsche bank
Support by corporate bodies and bilateral organizations in Prevention of blindness and eye health researches e.g. British council scholarship for prevention of blindness researches in developing countries.
How were these successes achieved?
Strong global collaboration, partnership and unity of purpose: NGOs, WHO, Governments, professional and corporate bodies partnership for Vision 2020 was very effective.
Effective Global and regional leadershipStrong purposeful determined and committed leadership for eye care at all levels International, Regional, National, District.
Consistency, commitment and perseverance: Even with competing demands in health and social arenas, there was still strong drive to secure more political and economic support for eye health and PB
Evidence based approach strategies Generation of evidence and effective
use of them including use of economic impact studies
Flexibility Adaptability to cope with changing trends
in demography and epidemiology of diseases
Strategies to engage evolving global health priorities
Team work and inter-discipline cooperationMulti-discipline cooperation and
collaboration in approaches
Australia ($45m+) and Pakistan ($51m+) had achieved greater national government support for eye care . This can be attributed to common advocacy strategies they adopted, mainly
• Generation and effective utilization of available evidence• Engaging government and policy makers and maintain
credibility with government • Strengthen collaboration and partnership among all
stakeholders in the country to form a broad base platform
Case studies of Australia and Pakistan advocacy efforts at national levels
Rabiu MM, et al. Enhancing advocacy for eye care at national levels: what steps to take for
the next decade? Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2012 Jan;19(1):75-82 .
Investing in VisionA study by the Fred
Hollows FoundationComparing the costs &
benefits of eliminating avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment
What do we need to do more ?
Generate more evidence on:Successes of the
interventionsEconomic impact of visual
impairment and Strategies for tackling
emerging challenges e.g. AMD, DR Glaucoma.. etc.
Advocacy tools Demonstrate that eye
care complements most national development and health programs
Show the alignment of eye care with the national poverty, development, disability, gender agendas.
Train NCs and National ophthalmic society leaders on advocacy skills, to engage governments, bi- and multi- lateral agencies and civil societies
Use of innovative media advocacy- strategy Increase media coverage including use of fellowship
and grants for reporting Networks of voices: Identify media champions for
blindness and form editors forum for eye care.
Identify local ambassadors for PB and eye health Use of more high profile
international and national personalities as ‘door openers’
This should be customized to different countries, in some actors, musicians and other celebrities, in others National and religions leaders may be more appropriate.
Strengthen National Network and coalition for advocacy
Professional organizations to form national and regional networks to provide a solid platform for eye health advocacy and serve as a pressure group to influence national decisions on health and eye health
Network may link up with existing forum on disabilities , NCD, gender etc.
Thank you
