On March 22, World Water Day, Eyes of the world starts a yearlong campaign on its social media to bring awareness about the incidence of climate change on eye health and the need to take measures to reduce their harmful effects.
The impact of climate change in eye health is undeniable and can be seen in the growing increase of eye conditions:
- High temperatures and lack of rain lead to an increase in infectious diseases such as trachoma or onchocerciasis.
- The increase in UV rays and the loss of the ozone layer as a result of global warming accelerates the appearance of cataracts and eye lesions in the conjunctiva, cornea and retina.
- Air pollution due to growing traffic involves more severe cases of glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and allergies.
- Food insecurity caused by floods and draughts affecting crops leads to increased vitamin A deficiencies.
- Extreme weather events cause more eye injuries, mainly in people with disabilities.
Moreover, in the face of disasters such as hurricanes or cyclones, eye care disappears due to the closure or destruction of both medical facilities and supply chains for medicines, surgical material, glasses, etc.
Another aspect to highlight is the corelation between climate change and inequality in eye health. Most blind and visually impaired people live in remote areas and with few resources. Climate change disproportionally affects these vulnerable communities and women and girls are always the most disadvantaged. Furthermore, international medical teams are always deployed to cover emergencies, but hardly ever include ophthalmology specialists, so many eye injuries are not treated properly and can become chronic or lead to disability.
The health sector cannot stand aside since, like any other, it is involved in the increase of this climate disaster, being responsible for 4.4% of global emissions. Ophthalmological activities can also have a significant impact on carbon emissions if, for example, the disposal of untreated sanitary waste in landfills is not properly managed, which can lead to water pollution.
For all these reasons, Eyes of the world joins the sustainable measures promoted by the IAPB in the eye health sector to reduce the environmental impact such as, among others, reduction in use of fossil fuels, water conservation, safe waste management and ensuring sustainable clinical practices.