Pöördumine

UN City, Marmorvej 51 Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00 Email: [email protected] DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø Denmark

Fax: +45 45 33 70 01 Website: https://www.who.int/europe

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ

WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ

Date: 7 January 2026

Ms Helen Sõber

Adviser

European Union Affairs and International Co-

operation Department

Ministry of Social Affairs

Suur-Ameerika 1

10122 Tallinn

Estonia

REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L’EUROPE

REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО

Head office:

UN City, Marmorvej 51, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00; Fax: +45 45 33 70 01

Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.who.int/europe

Our reference: Notre référence: Unser Zeichen: См. наш номер:

Your reference: Votre référence: Ihr Zeichen: На Ваш номер:

Dear Ms Sõber,

Request for nominating a National Data Focal Point on eye care for the

Global status report on eye care and vision impairment (2027)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing a Global status report on eye care and vision

impairment to be presented in 2027, in order to strengthen evidence-informed planning and

monitoring of eye care within health systems and to support progress toward global eye care targets.

This process offers Member States an opportunity to showcase national achievements in eye care, to

build networks with other countries and partners during data collection and consultation, and to lay

the groundwork for future technical collaboration and potential funding opportunities.

WHO kindly requests your country to nominate one National Data Focal Point (NDFP) who is an eye

care professional working within the government and who is well placed to collaborate with national

monitoring and evaluation structures and other relevant departments. The NDFP may, if desired,

designate one to two National Data Contributors to support them in data collection and validation,

drawing on expertise from sectors such as health, social welfare, education, finance, academia, civil

society, and WHO Collaborating Centres. To help you conduct this work, WHO can provide modest

financial support during the data collection process (e.g. translation, convening of actors for a

consensus meeting), if needed by member states.

The main responsibilities of the NDFP on eye care for the Global status report on eye care and vision

impairment (2027) will be to:

1. Coordinate national-level data collection activities for the Global status report.

2. Oversee the work of any National Data Contributors and ensure their representation spans

all relevant sectors.

3.Validate and submit national data through the secure WHO online platform.

4. Liaise with WHO/EURO Technical Officer for support and guidance.

– 2 –

5. Ensure timely completion of surveys, questionnaires, and validation exercises in line with

the global schedule.

6. Participate in WHO-organized online training for NDFPs; the first online training is planned

for the second week of February 2025 (exact dates to be confirmed).

7. Work with WHO Regional Offices to develop a national work plan aligned with project

milestones (Q2 2026 –Q4 2027).

8.Coordinate the collection and submission of relevant national legislation, policies, and

strategic documents on eye care.

9. Organise multi-sectoral consensus meetings to validate national submissions.

10. Facilitate ministerial approval of national datasets using the WHO “sign-off sheet”

process.

11. Respond to WHO queries and requests for clarification on submitted data.

12. Support dissemination of the report nationally and advocate for the use of findings to

inform policy.

We would be grateful to receive the nomination, including the nominee’s name, job title, organization,

department and email address, at your earliest convenience and no later than 31 January 2026. Shirin

Kiani, Technical Officer, Disability, Assistive Technology, Ear/Eye Care at WHO Europe, is

responsible for this activity and it would be appreciated if you would address your reply to her at

[email protected] with [email protected] in copy.

Sincerely yours,

Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat

Director, Division of Health Systems

Encls:

Concept note

Copy for information to:

Ms Agne Nettan-Sepp, Head, European Union Affairs and International Co-operation Department, Ministry of

Social Affairs, Suur-Ameerika 1, 10129 Tallinn, Estonia

H.E. Ms Riia Salsa-Audiffren, Ambassador Representative of the Republic of Estonia, Permanent Mission of

the Republic of Estonia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Chemin

du Petit-Saconnex 28A, CH-1209 Genève, Switzerland

H.E. Mr Andre Pung, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of Estonia,

Frederiksgade 19, 4th floor, 1265 Copenhagen K, Denmark

Ms Kristina Köhler, Liaison Officer, WHO Country Office, Estonia, Paldiski Road 81, 10617 Tallinn, Estonia

Global status report on eye care and vision impairment (2027)

Concept note

Context Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. In at least 1 billion of these cases, vision impairment could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed. And of those with unaddressed vision impairment or blindness, 90% live in low- and middle-income countries. To confound this, the number of people with noncommunicable eye conditions is expected to surge in the coming years due to demographic, behavioural and lifestyle trends.

Background The strategic recommendations outlined in WHO’s first-ever World report on vision (2019) (1) were successful in providing the foundation for a ‘new’ eye care agenda that focusses on: (i) Reorienting the model of care to strengthen eye care within primary health care; (ii) Improving coordination of services within and across sectors and related health programmes; (iii) Integrating eye care into wider health plans and policies, and (iv) Presenting refractive error as an important public health agenda.

Significant progress has been made in the last 5 years to facilitate more effective integration of these recommendations, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Firstly, WHO has developed a comprehensive set of WHO global public health goods (2–8) and new global initiatives (9–11) to support governments to effectively and sustainably address the huge unmet need for eye care. Secondly, there has been a series of political commitments, including the adoption of World Health Assembly (WHA) and United Nations (UN) resolutions, such as WHA73.4 in 2020 (12), WHA74(12) in 2021 (13), WHA78.7 in 2025 (14) and UNGA A/75/L.108 in 2021 (15). The generation of high-quality evidence and data including the assessment of country-level actions and capacity, coupled with regional and global trends, is critical to monitor progress towards achieving the recommendations set in these political commitments.

Objectives of the Report The first Global status report on eye care and vision impairment (2025-2027) will:

 Summarize data on the burden of eye disease, vision impairment and intervention coverage, including time trends.

 Assess relevant eye care policies, legislation, service delivery and workforce capacity at country-level.

 Identify gaps and opportunities in eye care systems.

 Highlight case studies of innovative practices.  Support Member States in tracking progress towards the 2030 global targets on

effective coverage of eye care.

Process and milestones National level data will be collected through the administration of a questionnaire. In addition, supplementary data will be collected through alternative national sources. The report will be developed through a stepwise approach:

Step Literature review and synthesis of existing tools. Q4 2025 Establishment of Advisory Group and development of questionnaire. Q4 2025 Implementation of questionnaire and Member State data collection. Q1 2026 Validation of Member State data. Q1 2027 Analysis of population-based indicators and policy review. Q2 2027 Drafting of report and Member State consultation. Q2 2027 Final publication of Global Status Report and dissemination outputs. Q3 2027

The process to generate the report will operate under a web-based platform securing safe access to all those involved; training and meetings will take place online. Regional summaries and other products may be crafted into the project management since inception.

Outputs and dissemination  Global status report on eye care and vision impairment.  Other products, such as fact sheets, policy briefs or regional summaries.  Mobile application and online data .  Member state profiles; regional profiles.  Policy briefs and academic publications.  Dissemination plan developed with stakeholders.

Anticipated impact The report will establish a baseline and benchmark for monitoring progress against the global targets for eye care to 2030, stimulate political and financial commitment, strengthen collaboration across sectors, and provide evidence to mobilize resources towards universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.

References 1. World Health Organization. World report on vision. 2019; Available from:

https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/328717 2. World Health Organization. Eye care in health systems: Guide for action. 2022; Available

from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354382 3. World Health Organization. Eye care situation analysis tool (ECSAT). 2022; Available

from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/356021 4. World Health Organization. Eye care indicator menu (ECIM): a tool for monitoring

strategies and actions for eye care provision. 2022; Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354257

5. World Health Organization. Package of eye care interventions. 2022; Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354256

6. World Health Organization. Eye care competency framework. 2022; Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354241

7. World Health Organization. Guidance on the analysis and use of routine health information systems: eye and ear care module. 2023; Available from: https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/372092

8. World Health Organization. Vision and eye screening implementation handbook. 2024; Available from: https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/375590

9. World Health Organization. SPECS 2030 [Internet]. Available from: https://www.who.int/initiatives/specs-2030

10. ATscale the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology (hosted by UNOPS) [Internet]. Available from: https://atscalepartnership.org/

11. The Coalition for Clear Vision [Internet]. Available from: https://tccv.org/ 12. Resolution WHA73.4. Integrated people-centred eye care, including preventable vision

impairment and blindness [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization: In: Seventy- third World Health Assembly; 2020. Available from: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA73/A73_R4-en.pdf

13. Resolution WHA74(12). Integrated people-centred eye care, including preventable vision impairment and blindness. Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization: In: Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly; 2021. Available from: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA74/A74(12)-en.pdf

14. Resolution WHA78.7. Primary prevention and integrated care for sensory impairments including vision impairment and hearing loss, across the life course. Geneva: World Health Organization: In: Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly; 2025.

15. United Nations. General Assembly Resolution A/75/L.108 – Vision for Everyone; accelerating action to achieve the sustainable development goals [Internet]. 2021. Available from: https://www.undocs.org/en/A/75/L.108

UN City, Marmorvej 51 Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00 Email: [email protected] DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø Denmark

Fax: +45 45 33 70 01 Website: https://www.who.int/europe

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ

WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ

Date: 7 January 2026

Ms Helen Sõber

Adviser

European Union Affairs and International Co-

operation Department

Ministry of Social Affairs

Suur-Ameerika 1

10122 Tallinn

Estonia

REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L’EUROPE

REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО

Head office:

UN City, Marmorvej 51, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00; Fax: +45 45 33 70 01

Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.who.int/europe

Our reference: Notre référence: Unser Zeichen: См. наш номер:

Your reference: Votre référence: Ihr Zeichen: На Ваш номер:

Dear Ms Sõber,

Request for nominating a National Data Focal Point on eye care for the

Global status report on eye care and vision impairment (2027)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing a Global status report on eye care and vision

impairment to be presented in 2027, in order to strengthen evidence-informed planning and

monitoring of eye care within health systems and to support progress toward global eye care targets.

This process offers Member States an opportunity to showcase national achievements in eye care, to

build networks with other countries and partners during data collection and consultation, and to lay

the groundwork for future technical collaboration and potential funding opportunities.

WHO kindly requests your country to nominate one National Data Focal Point (NDFP) who is an eye

care professional working within the government and who is well placed to collaborate with national

monitoring and evaluation structures and other relevant departments. The NDFP may, if desired,

designate one to two National Data Contributors to support them in data collection and validation,

drawing on expertise from sectors such as health, social welfare, education, finance, academia, civil

society, and WHO Collaborating Centres. To help you conduct this work, WHO can provide modest

financial support during the data collection process (e.g. translation, convening of actors for a

consensus meeting), if needed by member states.

The main responsibilities of the NDFP on eye care for the Global status report on eye care and vision

impairment (2027) will be to:

1. Coordinate national-level data collection activities for the Global status report.

2. Oversee the work of any National Data Contributors and ensure their representation spans

all relevant sectors.

3.Validate and submit national data through the secure WHO online platform.

4. Liaise with WHO/EURO Technical Officer for support and guidance.

– 2 –

5. Ensure timely completion of surveys, questionnaires, and validation exercises in line with

the global schedule.

6. Participate in WHO-organized online training for NDFPs; the first online training is planned

for the second week of February 2025 (exact dates to be confirmed).

7. Work with WHO Regional Offices to develop a national work plan aligned with project

milestones (Q2 2026 –Q4 2027).

8.Coordinate the collection and submission of relevant national legislation, policies, and

strategic documents on eye care.

9. Organise multi-sectoral consensus meetings to validate national submissions.

10. Facilitate ministerial approval of national datasets using the WHO “sign-off sheet”

process.

11. Respond to WHO queries and requests for clarification on submitted data.

12. Support dissemination of the report nationally and advocate for the use of findings to

inform policy.

We would be grateful to receive the nomination, including the nominee’s name, job title, organization,

department and email address, at your earliest convenience and no later than 31 January 2026. Shirin

Kiani, Technical Officer, Disability, Assistive Technology, Ear/Eye Care at WHO Europe, is

responsible for this activity and it would be appreciated if you would address your reply to her at

[email protected] with [email protected] in copy.

Sincerely yours,

Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat

Director, Division of Health Systems

Encls:

Concept note

Copy for information to:

Ms Agne Nettan-Sepp, Head, European Union Affairs and International Co-operation Department, Ministry of

Social Affairs, Suur-Ameerika 1, 10129 Tallinn, Estonia

H.E. Ms Riia Salsa-Audiffren, Ambassador Representative of the Republic of Estonia, Permanent Mission of

the Republic of Estonia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Chemin

du Petit-Saconnex 28A, CH-1209 Genève, Switzerland

H.E. Mr Andre Pung, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of Estonia,

Frederiksgade 19, 4th floor, 1265 Copenhagen K, Denmark

Ms Kristina Köhler, Liaison Officer, WHO Country Office, Estonia, Paldiski Road 81, 10617 Tallinn, Estonia

Global status report on eye care and vision impairment (2027)

Concept note

Context Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. In at least 1 billion of these cases, vision impairment could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed. And of those with unaddressed vision impairment or blindness, 90% live in low- and middle-income countries. To confound this, the number of people with noncommunicable eye conditions is expected to surge in the coming years due to demographic, behavioural and lifestyle trends.

Background The strategic recommendations outlined in WHO’s first-ever World report on vision (2019) (1) were successful in providing the foundation for a ‘new’ eye care agenda that focusses on: (i) Reorienting the model of care to strengthen eye care within primary health care; (ii) Improving coordination of services within and across sectors and related health programmes; (iii) Integrating eye care into wider health plans and policies, and (iv) Presenting refractive error as an important public health agenda.

Significant progress has been made in the last 5 years to facilitate more effective integration of these recommendations, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Firstly, WHO has developed a comprehensive set of WHO global public health goods (2–8) and new global initiatives (9–11) to support governments to effectively and sustainably address the huge unmet need for eye care. Secondly, there has been a series of political commitments, including the adoption of World Health Assembly (WHA) and United Nations (UN) resolutions, such as WHA73.4 in 2020 (12), WHA74(12) in 2021 (13), WHA78.7 in 2025 (14) and UNGA A/75/L.108 in 2021 (15). The generation of high-quality evidence and data including the assessment of country-level actions and capacity, coupled with regional and global trends, is critical to monitor progress towards achieving the recommendations set in these political commitments.

Objectives of the Report The first Global status report on eye care and vision impairment (2025-2027) will:

 Summarize data on the burden of eye disease, vision impairment and intervention coverage, including time trends.

 Assess relevant eye care policies, legislation, service delivery and workforce capacity at country-level.

 Identify gaps and opportunities in eye care systems.

 Highlight case studies of innovative practices.  Support Member States in tracking progress towards the 2030 global targets on

effective coverage of eye care.

Process and milestones National level data will be collected through the administration of a questionnaire. In addition, supplementary data will be collected through alternative national sources. The report will be developed through a stepwise approach:

Step Literature review and synthesis of existing tools. Q4 2025 Establishment of Advisory Group and development of questionnaire. Q4 2025 Implementation of questionnaire and Member State data collection. Q1 2026 Validation of Member State data. Q1 2027 Analysis of population-based indicators and policy review. Q2 2027 Drafting of report and Member State consultation. Q2 2027 Final publication of Global Status Report and dissemination outputs. Q3 2027

The process to generate the report will operate under a web-based platform securing safe access to all those involved; training and meetings will take place online. Regional summaries and other products may be crafted into the project management since inception.

Outputs and dissemination  Global status report on eye care and vision impairment.  Other products, such as fact sheets, policy briefs or regional summaries.  Mobile application and online data .  Member state profiles; regional profiles.  Policy briefs and academic publications.  Dissemination plan developed with stakeholders.

Anticipated impact The report will establish a baseline and benchmark for monitoring progress against the global targets for eye care to 2030, stimulate political and financial commitment, strengthen collaboration across sectors, and provide evidence to mobilize resources towards universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.

References 1. World Health Organization. World report on vision. 2019; Available from:

https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/328717 2. World Health Organization. Eye care in health systems: Guide for action. 2022; Available

from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354382 3. World Health Organization. Eye care situation analysis tool (ECSAT). 2022; Available

from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/356021 4. World Health Organization. Eye care indicator menu (ECIM): a tool for monitoring

strategies and actions for eye care provision. 2022; Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354257

5. World Health Organization. Package of eye care interventions. 2022; Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354256

6. World Health Organization. Eye care competency framework. 2022; Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354241

7. World Health Organization. Guidance on the analysis and use of routine health information systems: eye and ear care module. 2023; Available from: https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/372092

8. World Health Organization. Vision and eye screening implementation handbook. 2024; Available from: https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/375590

9. World Health Organization. SPECS 2030 [Internet]. Available from: https://www.who.int/initiatives/specs-2030

10. ATscale the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology (hosted by UNOPS) [Internet]. Available from: https://atscalepartnership.org/

11. The Coalition for Clear Vision [Internet]. Available from: https://tccv.org/ 12. Resolution WHA73.4. Integrated people-centred eye care, including preventable vision

impairment and blindness [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization: In: Seventy- third World Health Assembly; 2020. Available from: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA73/A73_R4-en.pdf

13. Resolution WHA74(12). Integrated people-centred eye care, including preventable vision impairment and blindness. Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization: In: Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly; 2021. Available from: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA74/A74(12)-en.pdf

14. Resolution WHA78.7. Primary prevention and integrated care for sensory impairments including vision impairment and hearing loss, across the life course. Geneva: World Health Organization: In: Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly; 2025.

15. United Nations. General Assembly Resolution A/75/L.108 – Vision for Everyone; accelerating action to achieve the sustainable development goals [Internet]. 2021. Available from: https://www.undocs.org/en/A/75/L.108