Poster: Collaborative Advocacy Body for the New Zealand Eye Health Sector
Collaborative Advocacy Body for the New Zealand Eye Health Sector - Text
[Originally presented at the RANZCO NZ Branch Annual Scientific Meeting 2024]
Author: Dr Justin Mora
Eye Health Aotearoa represents all the major stakeholders in eye health and advocates for system level improvements. Our collective group is more powerful than any one organization alone.
Vision: Accessible, comprehensive and equitable eye health services for all New Zealanders.
Mission: To partner with Government to reform the New Zealand eye health system.
Eye Health Aotearoa is a charitable Trust. Trustees on the Board represent a broad range of organisations in the eye health sector.
Eye Health Aotearoa has achieved significant milestones:
- Led the implementation of the Eye Care Situation Analysis Tool (ECSAT) which helped guide the aims of Te Kitenga Vision 2030.
- Briefed Incoming Ministers.
- Arranged meetings with Ministers and Party Spokespeople to advocate for eye health.
- Re-established the Parliamentary Friends of Eye Health, which is a cross-party group of MPs with an interest in eye health. Established in 2016, this group has continued to support Eye Health Aotearoa to champion eye health issues in parliament and facilitate cross party engagement.
- Awareness and Education campaigns over successive years. The 2024 Children's Eye Health Campaign will focus on myopia.
- Developed collaborative relationships. Partnered with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and established partnerships with key stakeholders, such as RANZCO.
- Building on the momentum from the ECSAT report launch and our 2023 Parliamentary Petition we continue to advocate for Aotearoa New Zealand's first National Eye Health Survey. We need robust prevalence data to guide future interventions.
All organisations working within, in partnership with, or with an interest in the sector are welcome.
Get in touch if you would like to be involved, contact us on [email protected]
Visit the Eye Health Aotearoa website:
Supporting Organizations:
- Blind Low Vision NZ
- Glaucoma NZ
- Kāpō Māori Aotearoa
- Macular Degeneration New Zealand
- New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO)
- Sight Support Trust
- The University of Auckland School of Optometry and Vision Science
- The Royal Australian New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO)
- Visual Impairment Charitable Trust Aotearoa (NZ) (VICTA)
Eye Health Aotearoa is a member of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
