Integrated People-Centered Eye Care: The Game Changer

On the 2019 World Sight Day (observed on the second Thursday of October every year), the World Health Organization (WHO) released the first-ever World Report on Vision (WRV) [1]. The WRV describes the prevailing magnitude of eye disorders, as well as the success of global efforts, current challenges, and strategies for universal health coverage through eye care. One of the most important recommendations for the future of eye care is the Integrated People-Centered Eye Care (IPCEC). The IPCEC is built on the WHO global strategy on people-centered and integrated health services, endorsed at the 69th World Health Assembly in 2016 (Resolution WHA 69.24) [2]. This is a call for a fundamental paradigm shift in the delivery and financing of health services. This well thought-through strategy is to help people access high-quality health services, while also allowing the providers to maintain financial sustainability so that healthcare becomes more responsive to individual and community needs (Fig. 5.1). The compelling reasons behind this strategic shift are the aging population, increasing longevity, increasing urbanization, unhealthy lifestyles, and the gradual shift of the disease spectrum to non-communicable diseases. While hospital-based “curative” treatment is still required for more advanced stages of diseases or when complex procedures and surgery are necessary, “preventive” care is equally imperative and health “promotion” is critical to bring about behavioral changes in the population.