On World Children’s Day, Hoya Vision Care convened leading global experts, policymakers, industry leaders, and advocates to publish “Tackling the Myopia Crisis: Uniting Frontline Care, Policy, and Thoughtful Innovation”—a landmark consensus statement that declares childhood myopia as a public health emergency and charts a unified path forward through coordinated global intervention.
The panel represented a united front spanning the fields of epidemiology, policy, sustainability, clinical care, and patient advocacy. Together, they called for an immediate and pivotal shift from fragmented efforts to a coordinated global strategy, and, put forward 4 critical recommendations for government and healthcare systems to drive systemic change:
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Mandate universal pediatric vision screening for preschool age upwards
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Prioritize myopia management intervention upskilling in continuous professional educational programs for eyecare professionals
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Integrate healthy visual habits including mandated time outdoors, myopia awareness initiatives and myopia-focused educational activities within school curricula and community hubs
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Recognize that these measures should be implemented alongside wider policies to address childhood health inequalities, digital wellbeing, and universal health coverage, ensuring no child's future is limited by preventable vision impairment