Page 24 - The Indian Optician Digital Edition May-June 2023
P. 24
BHVI LAUNCHES IAPB BAGS TWO
MYOPIA PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS
AWARENESS WEEK The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
(IAPB) is the lucky winner of two prestigious international
awards: One for the ‘Association of the Year’; and the second
for the ‘Best Campaign of the Year’ for its #Love Your Eyes
The Brien Holden Vision Institute Campaign.
(BHVI), an Australian not-for-profit
organisation with an international focus The awards were announced in the first week of April
on vision research, launched a Myopia by the Association of Associations Executives (AAE) at
Awareness Week for 2023 – a global their annual International & European Association Awards
initiative relaunched in 2021, to bring ceremony. The judges for the Association of the Year award
attention to the growing epidemic of recognised IAPB as “A wonderful example of how a cause
myopia in children across the world. can be advocated at a very high level yet translated and
implemented very locally. Very nicely thought-through,
This year, the Myopia Awareness planned, and eventually executed with tangible results.”
Week was held from the 22 to the
nd
26 of May. A range of educational and While accepting the award, the chief executive of IAPB
th
awareness resources for practitioners, Peter Holland said, “We are delighted and proud to win
parents and advocates of myopia this award, which belongs to all our members around
awareness was provided by BHVI with a the world. We are a growing organisation with over 200
focus on making myopia management members working together for a world where eye health is
an essential part of child eye health this accessible, available and affordable to everyone. In recent
year. Uncorrected myopia is a leading years, together with our members, we have achieved the first
cause of blindness worldwide and BHVI ever UN Resolution on Vision, worked with the World Health
once again emphasised that all ECPs, Organization (WHO) on global targets for Cataract and
Refractive Error, achieved a landmark commitment from
parents and advocates should keep ‘An Commonwealth Governments on School Eye health and
Eye On Myopia’ – promoting the need to have launched our Love Your Eyes campaign.”
make myopia management essential for
children, and to aid in the global effort to IAPB also bagged the Best Campaign of the Year at the
slow the progression of myopia. same awards ceremony for its #LoveYourEyes campaign.
According to the judges, the campaign was a "visually
“In the last few years, there has been very attractive, well thought out campaign that has grown
an incredibly concerted effort from exponentially and still has potential left to grow further.”
leading researchers and producers of
eye health technology to develop robust Speaking on the occasion, Simon Darvill, director of
treatment methods for slowing myopia communications, campaigns and events at IAPB said,
progression. We are now at a critical “Together with our members we have built an award-
stage in the effort to curb myopia, where winning campaign, with the simple message to Love
we have the tools to create meaningful Your Eyes. To achieve a world where no one experiences
change. It is now time to engage the unnecessary or preventable sight loss, and everyone can
entire eye health community, advising achieve their full potential, our #Love Your Eyes campaign is
them of not just the importance, but how calling on governments and businesses to make eye health
they can treat myopia in their practice accessible, available and affordable for everyone by 2030.”
with their afflicted patients – putting to The AAE's International and European Association
use the incredible bodies of research Awards recognise success and sharing the know-how across
and advancements in technology that associations. The awards program is a non-profit-making
are pushing the case for a world where initiative where nominees pay a low admin fee for entering.
half the population doesn’t need to The awards are supported by the most distinguished
be impacted by this debilitating eye associations and societies, and have the highest reputation
disease,” said Yvette Waddell, CEO, BHVI. for fair and good practices.
20 | THE INDIAN OPTICIAN | MAY-JUNE 2023 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
