Our eyes are one of nature’s complex wonders. It's no wonder they are regarded as the window to the soul.
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated safety measures have prompted a change in the provision and delivery of eye health services. A large number of vision programmes have been temporarily suspended, including mobile eye-screening exercises and non-emergency surgeries, in an attempt to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for both patients and health workers.
While several concerns have been raised regarding the role of the eyes in the transmission of the virus, especially given the proximity of eye-care professional to patients during eye examinations, the pandemic surely has implications both for eye health and eyecare professionals.
This current situation is likely to have a huge impact on eye health in general because the VISION 2020 Right to Sight global initiative – a joint programme of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) that aims to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020 – cannot now be attained as had been hoped, as people living in underserved regions who relied on outreach services are going to be the most affected.