Continued and targeted efforts are required to ensure equity in eye health and vision care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, according to Carla Northam, CEO of Vision 2020 Australia.
Vision 2020 Australia, in collaboration with 14 organisations, sent a proposal to key Australian Government representatives, building on its successful 2015 proposal to close the gap in eye health by 2020. “While a focus on Indigenous eye health and vision care has seen the gap in rates of blindness halved, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain three times more likely to be blind or vision impaired than the broader population,” said Ms. Northam.
The proposal states:
• targeted investment in coordination at a regional level and on the ground, is crucial to support frontline service delivery and ensure patient pathways are well managed;
While a focus on Indigenous eye health and vision care has seen the gap in rates of blindness halved, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain three times more likely to be blind or vision impaired than the broader population
• improved availability of, and access to, culturally aware and culturally safe eye health and vision care services is critical to ensure equitable outcomes and reduce high rates of avoidable blindness and vision loss;
• nationally consistent subsidised spectacle schemes to address uncorrected refractive error are essential to ensure improved access to prescription glasses among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities;
• a nationally coordinated approach to the full implementation of the World Health Organisation’s SAFE Strategy is required to eliminate trachoma by 2020; and
• national oversight and consistent data is essential to ensure accountability and system-wide strategic direction.
