Podcast Alert: A Powerful Conversation on Gender Equity in Eye Health

On World Sight Day, a new episode of the Eyes On Tomorrow podcast went live, featuring our Gender Equity Advisor at Orbis International and Main Lead of the Women Leaders in Eye Health, Rose Namukwai. alongside Filomena Ribeiro, MD, PhD, FEBO, President of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), and Kate Gannon, Deputy Director at Orbis UK.

Together, they explore how gender inequality continues to limit access to eye care for women and girls around the world, and how collective action can change this reality.

The numbers are striking:

Two-thirds of blind children are girls

55% of visually impaired people are women

The causes are complex : poverty, lack of access to finances and education, remote living conditions, and a shortage of female healthcare professionals, but there are promising solutions already making a difference:

- Women-led Green Vision Centres in underserved communities

- Simple near-vision glasses empowering tea pickers and garment workers

- Collaborations with traditional healers to expand eye-care awareness

- Mentorship programs advancing women in ophthalmic leadership

Each of these examples demonstrates progress toward equity, opportunity, and sustainable change in eye health worldwide.

Listen to the full episode here‍