Industry News
EssilorLuxottica and WCO Announce Global Partnership to Combat Presbyopia
In honor of World Optometry Week 2024, EssilorLuxottica and the World Council of Optometry (WCO) have joined forces to raise awareness and understanding of presbyopia, an age-related eye condition that affects millions worldwide. The partnership aims to establish standards of care for eye care professionals to manage the condition, providing them with the latest evidence-based scientific approaches, tools, and resources focused on the three pillars of mitigation, measurement, and management of presbyopia.
Presbyopia typically begins to develop in individuals around 40-45 years of age, with an estimated 2.1 billion people currently affected worldwide. As the global population ages, it is projected that by 2050, more than 4 billion people will have presbyopia, representing approximately 40% of the world's population. With increasing life expectancy, the majority of individuals will experience interventions for vision changes due to presbyopia for about half of their lifespan. This has significant implications for daily activities and quality of life, particularly as the demand on our eyes has increased due to the widespread use of digital devices over the past three decades.
In addition to raising global awareness, the program will feature insights from international experts in the field, building the standard of care resolution, and making the latest research and evidence easily accessible in educational materials for those interested in learning more about presbyopia. To ensure accessibility, assets will be published on both the WCO microsite and EssilorLuxottica's learning platform, Leonardo. Further updates on the available content and resources will be announced in the coming months.
WCO President Dr. Sandra Block said, “We are excited to partner with EssilorLuxottica to bring the importance of addressing our patients’ needs to see well up close. There are many new options to address presbyopia, and we agree that it is important to bring the information to the eye care practitioner so they can provide the best care for the patients. Along with helping to ensure evidence-based techniques are used, the partnership will highlight the eye health changes that are on-going as the patients grow older”.
“We are thrilled to partner with the World Council of Optometry, an organization that shares our vision to contribute to better eye health and vision care for people everywhere. Through this important program, I am certain that we will raise the global conversation around presbyopia and together make an even greater impact by providing a standard of care to manage the condition, but also providing the resources and support needed to help eye care professionals improve patient outcomes”, said Olga Prenat, Head of Medical and Professional Affairs at EssilorLuxottica.
EssilorLuxottica has a long-standing commitment to advancing knowledge and education on vision care globally, having partnered with WCO since 2015 at their first World Congress of Optometry. The company has actively participated in all WCO congresses and supported other global awareness initiatives, such as the Global State of Optometry Survey, which provides information on scope of practice, competency levels, demographics, optometric education requirements, and regulatory information.
