Other Sessions

Join us for a powerful start to 2030 IN SIGHT LIVE, Kenya, in the opening ceremony as we welcome senior government leaders from Kenya, policymakers, innovators, and visionaries united by a shared vision for universal eye health. This landmark moment will set the stage for action, collaboration, and impact ahead of the first Global Summit for Eye health.

Room: Mt Kilimanjaro

This session will introduce Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Vision Initiative and its approach to strengthening eye health systems globally. It will highlight key lessons from scaling eye care and share insights on newly enhanced data resources that will support decision-making across the sector.

This session will aim to:

Introduce and explain Bloomberg Philanthropies business and Vision Initiative to the broader eye health sector.
Share some of the lessons learnt to date from the initiative in scaling eye care.
Provide an update/insight into the new & improved data that will be made available from the Initiative.

Room: Mt Kilimanjaro 2 & 3

Moderator

Oli Barrett
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Oli Barrett

Creator of the Build A Better Network Course and Co-founder of Children’s Literacy Campaign TOTS

Speakers

Adrienne Pizatella
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Adrienne Pizatella

Adrienne Pizatella is on the Public Health team at Bloomberg Philanthropies. She supports the Tobacco Control Initiative, the Data for Health Initiative and is newly supporting the Vision Initiative - a two-year commitment to address vision needs globally.
Megan Collins
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Megan Collins

Megan Collins, MD, MPH, is the Allen and Claire Jensen Professor of Ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Wilmer Eye Institute.
Stuart Keel
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Stuart Keel

Dr Stuart Keel leads the work on Vision and Eye Care in the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva.
Jude Stern
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Jude Stern

Jude leads the IAPB knowledge agenda and team. Highlights from recent work include co-authoring The Value of Vision: the Case for Investing in Eye Health, the increase of use of the transformed Vision Atlas, the programme for IN SIGHT LIVE events, the Young Systems Leaders programme and the re-energised member engagement groups.
Charles Mugendi Opiyo
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Charles Mugendi Opiyo

Charles Mugendi is a Programme Manager at Sightsavers, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He brings two decades of experience across international NGOs and private sector collaborations, with a strong focus on advancing universal eye health at scale.
Kelly Larson
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Kelly Larson

Kelly Larson has over 30 years of experience managing local, national, and international public health programs. She currently directs Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Road safety, Drowning Prevention, Partnership for Healthy Cities and Vision programs, while also providing technical support to partners and grantees in the tobacco control initiative.
Dhivya Ramasamy
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Dhivya Ramasamy

Dhivya Ramasamy is the Executive Director at LAICO, the training and consulting arm of Aravind Eye Care System, based in Madurai, India. She has experience in healthcare management and training within the eye care sector, working on consultancy projects with hospitals in India, Bangladesh, and Zambia.

How do countries move from recognising the importance of eye health to embedding it within national health systems?

As governments pursue Universal Health Coverage to advance equity, productivity, and learning, preventing sight loss must become part of routine service delivery, not a stand-alone intervention. This applied systems discussion will explore how countries are integrating eye care into primary health care and UHC delivery models. Through real-world case examples, delegates will examine practical pathways for integration, from workforce optimisation and procurement readiness to embedding eye care within schools, child health programmes, and other service platforms.

Key discussion elements

Integrating eye health into primary health care and UHC delivery models
Learning from country examples of national health system integration
Strengthening workforce optimisation and procurement readiness - Embedding eye care within schools, child health programmes, and wider service platforms

Room: Mount Kilimanjaro 1

Moderator

Aaron Magava
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Aaron Magava

Dr Aaron Thembinkosi Magava is a Zimbabwean Qphthalmologist and Public Eye Health Specialist with extensive experience in clinical care, health systems strengthening, and regional policy development.

Speakers

Henry Ebong Nkumbe
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Henry Ebong Nkumbe

Dr. Henry Ebong Nkumbe is a vitreo-retinal surgeon and healthcare executive, serving as CEO and Medical Director of the Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute (MICEI) in Yaoundé, one of Central Africa’s leading centres for subspecialty eye care.
Priya Morjaria
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Priya Morjaria

Priya is the Head of Global Programme Development at Peek Vision, working across partnerships, programmes and product to apply her clinical and public health expertise.
Dechen Wangmo
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Dechen Wangmo

Professor & Head of Ophthalmology, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH) / Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences, Bhutan.
Fatima Kyari
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Fatima Kyari

Prof. Fatima Kyari is the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), where she provides strategic leadership for the regulation of medical and dental practice, professional conduct, and training standards nationwide.

What is working now across policy, financing and service delivery?

Session 1 of the Rapid Fire sessions with curated presentations from the call for submissions.

Root Cause Analysis of Common Adverse Events in Eye Care to Improve Patient Safety and Quality of Services
Barriers to Eye Care Service Utilization by Visually Impaired People and the Impact of War in Conflict-Affected Tigray region, Ethiopia
Advancing Data-Driven Global Ophthalmology Through Research: Integrating Science into Service
Integrating Eye Health into Nigeria’s National Health Management Information System: From Programme-based Reporting to Centralised Reporting on DHIS2.
Making Unmet Eye Health Need Visible: Using Harmonised Multi-Partner Data to Track Needs and Coverage of Eye Health services in Kenya
Magnitude of Ocular Morbidity and Eye Health Service Need in Central Sidama Zone, Ethiopia: Findings from an All-Age Population Eye Health Survey
Implementation of a Digital Presbyopia Lens Power Calculator in Community Eye Health Programmes: Analysis of the First 10,000 Prescriptions
From Screening to Sight: Accelerating Cataract surgery Access and CQI through Rwanda’s National Digital Eye Tracker system

Room: Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Chairs

Andreas Mueller
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Andreas Mueller

Andreas has a background in ophthalmic research and epidemiology, holding a Ph.D in Vision Sciences (UK) and a Master of Public Health (NZ). For the past 30 years, he has worked in various eye care sectors, including academia, private sector, nongovernment sector, and the UN system.
Tuwani Rasengane
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Tuwani Rasengane

Tuwani Rasengane is Head of Optometry at the University of the Free State and Director of Optometric Service, Universitas Academic Hospital. She serves as Co Chair of the WHO SPECS2030 Workforce workstream and is the current interim African region representative for the Global Optometry Public Health Alliance (GOPHA).

Presenters

Adedoyin Haastrup
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Adedoyin Haastrup

Adedoyin Haastrup is a public health specialist and Monitoring & Evaluation expert with extensive experience in strengthening health systems in Nigeria.
Hillary Rono
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Hillary Rono

Dr. Hillary Rono is an ophthalmologist and researcher serving as the Eye Coordinator for Trans Nzoia County, Kenya. With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Rono is a pioneer in delivering eye care to remote, underserved regions and a key leader in the global mission to eliminate avoidable blindness.
Marzieh Katibeh
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Marzieh Katibeh

Dr Marzieh Katibeh is a medical doctor and global eye health researcher. She completed her PhD at Aarhus University and currently works with Peek Vision and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Abeba Tesfay Gessesse
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Abeba Tesfay Gessesse

Dr. Abeba Tesfay is an Ophthalmologist and current Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Fellow at Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital in New Delhi. She earned her Medical Degree from Mekelle University in 2016 and completed her specialty certification in Ophthalmology at Addis Ababa University in 2021.
Theoneste Mutsindashyaka
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Theoneste Mutsindashyaka

Theoneste is a public health specialist with huge experience in health systems strengthening, with particular expertise in data systems, maternal and child health, and eye health program implementation. He holds a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor’s degree in Community Health.
Chundak Tenzing
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Chundak Tenzing

Dr. Chundak Tenzing, MD, DO, MBBS, MPH, is the Worldwide Medical Director at Seva Foundation. He has worked with Seva and its partners for almost three decades, overseeing programs worldwide and advocating high-quality care. He is passionate about providing eye care to people living in places where it is nonexistent. He has worked with partner eye hospitals, mainly in Nepal, India, China, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
Pamela Clapp
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Pamela Clapp

Pamela Clapp, Associate Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, joined the Cure Blindness Project in 2010, developing collaborative relationships with implementing partners to design, implement, and evaluate programs in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Pamela played a key role in partner expansion in Ghana and Ethiopia and strengthening capacity of ophthalmology training programs.
Esmael Habtamu Ali
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Esmael Habtamu Ali

Esmael Habtamu is a public eye health academic and clinical trialist with research interests in trachoma elimination and primary eye care. He is an Assistant Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), UK; Co-Founder and Executive Director of Eyu-Ethiopia; and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.

How can organisations turn ambition into credible, actionable commitments that advance the global eye health agenda?

Commitments from governments, civil society, and the private sector will be one of the most important elements of the Global Summit for Eye Health. This interactive workshop supports actors across the eye health sector to position their work within the context of the Global Summit and our shared goals. Through practical guidance and sector-based discussion, participants will develop concrete commitment ideas, test how to communicate them clearly and credibly, and explore opportunities for coordination and collaboration.

Key discussion elements

Translating ambition into visible, time-bound commitments
Positioning commitments for the Global Summit for Eye Health
Strengthening alignment with shared sector goals
Identifying opportunities for coordination and collaboration across the sector

Room: Mount Kenya 1 and 2

Moderator

Junu Shrestha
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Junu Shrestha

Junu Shrestha is Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager at the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), where she leads global policy and advocacy engagement to advance eye health within global health and development agendas.

Speakers

Amanda Davis
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Amanda Davis

Amanda Davis has been working in the area of blindness prevention and public health since 2006. Her experience spans advocacy, education, research, infrastructure development and funding; developing and managing relationships
Geoffrey Wabulembo
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Geoffrey Wabulembo

Senior ophthalmologist and global health leader with extensive experience in clinical care, leadership in ophthalmology faculty positions, and multi-country health programs.
Sarah Khor
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Sarah Khor

Sarah Khor specializes in international alliance development, advocacy, and government affairs in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector.
Rohit Khanna
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Rohit Khanna

Dr. Rohit C Khanna is the Network Director for the Public Health Unit of L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) – The Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care.
Valeria Sánchez Huerta
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Valeria Sánchez Huerta

As a Mexican ophthalmologist and CEO of the Asociación Para Evitar la Ceguera en México (APEC), Valeria is deeply committed to advancing eye health across Mexico and Latin America.
Joyce Koech
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Joyce Koech

Joyce Koech is the Global Lead for Inclusive Health Programmes at CBM, where she directs programme strategy across eye health, ear and hearing care, and physical rehabilitation portfolios in more than 30 countries.

Poster Display & Innovation Showcase (All Day)

Room: Mt Kenya 3 & Mt Elgon 1

How can countries unlock and align public budgets, private capital, and philanthropic funding to accelerate progress in eye health?

With momentum building toward the first Global Summit for Eye Health, this session will explore how to mobilise financing, forge new partnership models, move from short-term pilots to sustainable system transformation, and ensure inclusive approaches. Bringing together public, private, and philanthropic leaders, and drawing on real-world country experience, the session will examine how diversified financing can move eye health from project-based funding to sustained national investment.

Key discussion elements

Mobilising public, private, and philanthropic financing
Forging partnership models that reduce risk and expand scale
Moving from pilots to sustainable system transformation
Learning from country experience on diversified financing

Room: Mt Kilimanjaro 2 & 3

Moderator

Oli Barrett
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Oli Barrett

Creator of the Build A Better Network Course and Co-founder of Children’s Literacy Campaign TOTS

Speakers

David Munyendo
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David Munyendo

David Munyendo is the Kenya Country Director and Chief Executive Officer of CBM Christoffel-Blindenmission Christian Blind Mission e.V - Kenya, a leading disability inclusive development.
Andrew Bastawrous
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Andrew Bastawrous

Andrew is an Ophthalmologist (Eye Surgeon), Professor in Global Eye Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Co-Founder & CEO of Peek Vision and Co-Founder of the Vision Catalyst Fund.
Anthony Gitau
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Anthony Gitau

Anthony Gitau is a Graduate of Egerton University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. He is the Director Global Program Delivery and Impact, Africa and Middle East, Global Health Equity at Johnson and Johnson
Amos Bonna
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Amos Bonna

Amos is responsible for driving the business growth, development, partnerships and digital transformation at Opportunity Bank Uganda Limited with over 20 years’ experience in Banking especially Micro Finance in Credit management, Business development, Sales and Marketing in both the micro and commercial banking.
Ross Piper
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Ross Piper

Ross Piper is the Chief Executive Officer of the Fred Hollows Foundation. In this role he provides global leadership for the Foundation, which has operations in over 25 countries, a global board and entity boards in the USA, UK, Hong Kong and Kenya.

How do eye health programmes expand reach without losing quality, momentum, or system fit?

This masterclass explores the practical choices that shape implementation at scale in eye health. Through short case reflections and table work, participants will apply a simple scale-up lens to a real delivery challenge, testing what they are trying to grow, what is constraining progress, what must stay strong, what may need to adapt, and how to recognise whether scale-up is working in practice.

Key discussion elements

Applying a scale-up lens to a real eye health delivery challenge
Identifying bottlenecks that affect implementation at scale
Exploring what must stay strong and what may need to adapt in context
Recognising the signals that show whether scale-up is working in practice

Room: Mount Kenya 1 and 2

Moderator

Brenda Mareri
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Brenda Mareri

Brenda Mareri is a Systems Change Practitioner, Engagement Curator and moderator with 14+ years of cross-sectoral experience in regional food and nutrition development and sustainable development.

Speaker

Kelly Larson
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Kelly Larson

Kelly Larson has over 30 years of experience managing local, national, and international public health programs. She currently directs Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Road safety, Drowning Prevention, Partnership for Healthy Cities and Vision programs, while also providing technical support to partners and grantees in the tobacco control initiative.

Discussion Leads

Beatrice Varga
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Beatrice Varga

Beatrice Varga is Senior Director, US Programs and Partnerships at The Fred Hollows Foundation, bringing over 17 years of experience across academia, INGOs, and the private sector.
Charles Mugendi Opiyo
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Charles Mugendi Opiyo

Charles Mugendi is a Programme Manager at Sightsavers, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He brings two decades of experience across international NGOs and private sector collaborations, with a strong focus on advancing universal eye health at scale.
Stella Jane
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Stella Jane

Stella Jane serves as RestoringVision’s Senior Program Manager, Africa, leading the organization’s programs and partnerships across Sub-Saharan Africa. Based in Nairobi, she oversees the design, delivery, and evaluation of initiatives that expand access to vision services and near-vision eyeglasses.
Alemayhu Sisay
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Alemayhu Sisay

Alemayehu Sisay is a senior ophthalmologist and public health leader serving as Country Director of Orbis International in Ethiopia, where he provides strategic leadership for one of the largest comprehensive eye care and trachoma elimination programs globally.
Anne Coolen
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Anne Coolen

Anne Coolen is a seasoned public health leader, systems architect, and Chief Impact Officer at VisionSpring, a global social enterprise on a mission to bring affordable, quality eyeglasses to the 1.1 billion people who need them but cannot access them.

How do we build an eye health workforce that is fit for the future, not just stretched to meet today’s demand?

This session looks beyond workforce shortages to explore how countries can design, deploy, and support the people needed to deliver equitable, efficient, and sustainable eye care. It will examine the choices leaders face across service models, skill mix, task sharing, technology, and long-term system capacity.

Key discussion elements

Clarifying the real workforce challenge facing eye health systems
Surfacing the trade-offs between access, quality, efficiency, and scale
Highlighting priorities for workforce design, deployment, and support
Exploring what it will take to build a future-ready workforce by 2030

Room: Mount Kilimanjaro 1

Moderator

Jissa James
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Jissa James

Jissa James connects knowledge, people, and strategy to drive impact in global eye health. She is passionate about shaping spaces where professionals and organisations can share evidence, build capability, and drive collective action towards eye health for all.

Speakers

Simon Arunga
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Simon Arunga

Dr. Simon Arunga is the president of the college of Ophthalmology for Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. He trained as an ophthalmologist in Uganda in 2014 and earned his PhD from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK.
May Ho
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May Ho

Dr May Ho is an Australian registered optometrist working in public health and international eye health. She graduated from optometry at the University of Melbourne, where she also gained her PhD. May is in the Medical Team at the Fred Hollows Foundation as Optometry and Primary Care Adviser. She is based in Melbourne, Australia.
Kovin Naidoo
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Kovin Naidoo

Kovin Naidoo is the Global Head of Advocacy and Partnerships at the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation and the former CEO of the Brien Holden Vision Institute. He is an optometrist, academic, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner and an internationally celebrated public health leader.
Dhivya Ramasamy
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Dhivya Ramasamy

Dhivya Ramasamy is the Executive Director at LAICO, the training and consulting arm of Aravind Eye Care System, based in Madurai, India. She has experience in healthcare management and training within the eye care sector, working on consultancy projects with hospitals in India, Bangladesh, and Zambia.
Babar Qureshi
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Babar Qureshi

Muhammad Babar Qureshi, originally from Pakistan, has dedicated his career to improving the quality of life for those affected by vision impairment and blindness worldwide.

Discussion Leads

Rutul Shah
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Rutul Shah

Rutul Shah is a Manager – Training and Quality at Mission for Vision, where she leads Mission Saksham, a national initiative focused on strengthening the eyecare workforce in India by training Allied Ophthalmic Personnel (AOPs).
Cynthia Gape
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Cynthia Gape

Cynthia Gape is a Software Trainer and Design Lead at Peek Vision, focused on developing innovative training strategies that strengthen partner capacity and expand access to quality eye health services.
Adnan Abdul Majeed
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Adnan Abdul Majeed

Dr. Adnan Abdul Majeed, FCPS (Pakistan), MRCS (Glasgow, UK), FRCS (Glasgow, UK), is a Consultant Ophthalmologist and Academic Coordinator at the Sindh Institute of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences (SIOVS).
Ameer Abou Adela
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Ameer Abou Adela

Ameer Abou Adela is an optometrist with ten years of experience in public eye health, optometry education, and professional advocacy. He holds a BS in Optics & Optometry from the American University of Science and Technology, an MBA from Sagesse University, and PhDc in Optometry at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

What is working now across policy, financing and service delivery? Session 2 of the Rapid Fire sessions with curated presentations from the call for submissions.

Integrating Teleophthalmology into Community-Based Eye Care For Remote And Underserved Settings
Reaching the Last Mile for TT Clearance: Equity Lessons from Oromia, Ethiopia
Integrating Retinal Screening Into Chronic Disease Platforms Through Teleophthalmology And Cross Sector Partnerships
Delivery Models of Diabetic Retinopathy Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Implications for 2030 In Sight
Impact of Integrated Refractive Error/Cataract Programs on Surgical Outcomes
Strengthening Cataract Outcomes through Structured Multi-Point Postoperative Follow-Up
Beyond the Blur: Nigeria’s Blueprint for Addressing Near Vision Needs at Scale
Breaking Barriers to Refractive Care: A Multi-Sectoral Approach to Advancing Equity and Access in Pakistan

Room: Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Chairs

Reshma Dabideen
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Reshma Dabideen

Senior global health and development consultant with over 25 years of leadership and advisory experience across Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA and international contexts.
Graeme Mackenzie
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Graeme Mackenzie

Graeme MacKenzie is Director of Riemann Ltd, an ophthalmic research consultancy, through which he works with the Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation to lead its portfolio of ophthalmic research.

Presenters

Caio Abujamra
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Caio Abujamra

Caio Abujamra is the President of the Suel Abujamra Institute and Co-CEO of the Juntos pela Visão alliance. He assumed leadership of the Institute in 2018, transforming it into the largest provider of ophthalmic services within Brazil’s public health system (SUS).
Damilola Oyedele
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Damilola Oyedele

Damilola Oyedele works with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, supporting efforts to expand access to affordable vision care through primary health care systems.
Leena Ahmed
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Leena Ahmed

A social development professional with more than 18 years’ experience in programme development and management. Currently leading the programme team of Sightsavers Pakistan Country Office.
Melesse Akalu
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Melesse Akalu

A social development professional with more than 18 years’ experience in programme development and management. Currently leading the programme team of Sightsavers Pakistan Country Office.
Shaffi Mdala
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Shaffi Mdala

Shaffi Mdala is a Malawian ophthalmologist, Honorary Lecturer in Ophthalmology at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, and President of the Ophthalmological Society of Malawi.
Yesunesan
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Yesunesan

Started my eye-care career in 2014 in the Consultancy Division of the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology. I have worked with eye hospitals in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania in various capacity-building initiatives.
Karen Garduno
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Karen Garduno

Karen Garduno is a Business Development professional with 15+ years of international experience driving market expansion and strategic partnerships across APAC and LatAm.
Jackson Smith
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Jackson Smith

Jackson T. Smith, is a public health practitioner, health systems strategist, and social entrepreneur serving as Country Director of Good Vision Liberia. He leads efforts to expand access to high-quality, affordable eye care services, particularly for underserved communities.

Poster Display & Innovation Showcase (All Day)

Room: Mt Kenya 3 & Mt Elgon 1

What kind of leadership investment enables sustainable system change?

This session places Young Systems Leaders at the centre of a live conversation on what it takes to build leadership that can shape the future of eye health. Through linked questions on capability, authority, and the conditions for success, it explores whether the sector is doing enough to identify emerging leaders, equip them, trust them, and enable them to deliver change in practice.

Key discussion elements

Identifying the capabilities most needed in today’s changing eye health landscape
Exploring what needs to shift for emerging leaders to move from being heard to holding real authority
Understanding the conditions that enable emerging leaders to succeed, adapt, and sustain change
Treating leadership as a strategic investment in system change

Room: Mt Kilimanjaro 2 & 3

Moderators

Caroline Casey
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Caroline Casey

Caroline Casey is the businesswoman and activist behind The Valuable 500, the world’s largest CEO collective and business move for disability inclusion.
Oli Barrett
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Oli Barrett

Creator of the Build A Better Network Course and Co-founder of Children’s Literacy Campaign TOTS

Speakers

Adebowale Alfred Adekunle
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Adebowale Alfred Adekunle

Adebowale Alfred Adekunle (AAA) doesn't just work with data, he translates it into stories that move people to act. As the current Global Data and Reporting Lead at VisionSpring, he works across a diverse and rich cultural environment to design and manage the performance systems that support eye health programs
Chelsea Andrews
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Chelsea Andrews

Chelsea Andrews has spent her career building community-centered programs from the Middle East to the U.S., and now on a global scale in eye health. Over the past decade in the nonprofit sector
Soubhik Chel
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Soubhik Chel

Soubhik Chel is a dedicated optometrist and myopia practitioner focused on advancing evidence-based clinical care and community eye health in India.
Rutul Shah
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Rutul Shah

Rutul Shah is a Manager – Training and Quality at Mission for Vision, where she leads Mission Saksham, a national initiative focused on strengthening the eyecare workforce in India by training Allied Ophthalmic Personnel (AOPs).
Silvana Torres
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Silvana Torres

Silvana Torres, 31, was born and raised in San Juan Nepomuceno, Paraguay. She graduated as a Medical Doctor from Universidad del Pacífico in 2018. She later completed her specialization in Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Surgery at Fundación Visión, accredited by the Universidad Católica “Nuestra Señora de la Asunción,” graduating in 2023.
Mehran Memon
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Mehran Memon

Mehran Memon is Assistant Director of Information Technology at the Sindh Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (SIOVS), Pakistan, where he also serves as Certified Master Trainer, IT Lead for Peek Projects, and Focal Person for Safeguarding.
Cynthia Gape
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Cynthia Gape

Cynthia Gape is a Software Trainer and Design Lead at Peek Vision, focused on developing innovative training strategies that strengthen partner capacity and expand access to quality eye health services.
Adnan Abdul Majeed
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Adnan Abdul Majeed

Dr. Adnan Abdul Majeed, FCPS (Pakistan), MRCS (Glasgow, UK), FRCS (Glasgow, UK), is a Consultant Ophthalmologist and Academic Coordinator at the Sindh Institute of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences (SIOVS).
Fatima Kyari
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Fatima Kyari

Prof. Fatima Kyari is the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), where she provides strategic leadership for the regulation of medical and dental practice, professional conduct, and training standards nationwide.
Marco Antnio Otavano Soares
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Marco Antnio Otavano Soares

Marco Antonio Otaviano Soares is a technology entrepreneur, systems leader, and the Project Manager for Brazil at Global Vision 2020. Recognized as a recent award nominee for his commitment to solving global health issues in eyecare, Marco is dedicated to democratizing access to clear vision.

Globally, entire regions and populations go without refractive care, not for lack of need but for a lack of the right delivery model. By removing barriers to access and rethinking who delivers refractive error services, eye health care deserts need not be inevitable. Drawing on field data and academic research from pilots in Ghana, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea and Kenya, this session makes the case for task-sharing as the foundation of a financially sustainable primary eye health system. Expect hard numbers, honest questions, and a conversation worth having.

Room: Mt Kenya 1 & 2

Peek Vision will host an interactive breakfast session exploring one of the sector’s biggest challenges: how do we fund eye health sustainably to effect lasting, systemic change? Bringing together leaders from WHO, funders and eye health providers, the session will seek feedback from the sector and showcase emerging financing models being trialled in multiple countries in Africa and Asia. Attendees can expect candid insights, audience participation and open discussion on what must change to unlock lasting, large-scale progress in eye health worldwide.

Room: Breakout 4 - Mt Elgon 2 & 3

What will it take to translate the strong economic case for eye health into national budget allocations?

This session demystifies how eye health competes for, and wins, space in national budgets. It explores how investment decisions are made and how to present finance-ready cases that resonate with ministries of finance, planning, and development partners. Drawing on the Value of Vision investment case, participants will examine how evidence, framing, and coordinated advocacy can help turn the case for eye health into credible budget allocations.

Key discussion elements

Understanding what decision-makers look for when allocating budgets
Framing the Value of Vision through economic, social, and political priorities
Learning from real-world examples of eye health influencing national budgets and development partners
Aligning government, NGOs, private sector, philanthropy, professionals, and the public around stronger investment cases

Room: Breakout 2 - Mt Kilimanjaro 1

Moderator

Drew Keys
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Drew Keys

Drew Keys is the Director of Regions Engagement for IAPB, the global peak body for the eye health sector.

Speakers

Keisha McGuire
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Keisha McGuire

Ambassador Keisha A. McGuire serves as Chief Global Affairs Officer at RestoringVision, a global nonprofit addressing the massive yet often overlooked vision crisis of presbyopia.
Frank Hida
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Frank Hida

IAPB Latin America Sub-Regional Co-Chair, committed advocate for eye health and social impact initiatives in Brazil.
Oteri Okolo
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Oteri Okolo

Dr. Oteri Eme OKOLO is a visionary public eye health ophthalmologist with expertise in program management and coordination, advocacy, stakeholder engagement and partnership building.
Fernando Botelho
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Fernando Botelho

Fernando Botelho is the Assistive Technology Programme Specialist at the Children with Disability Team in UNICEF's Center of Excellence in Nairobi.
Louisa Syrett
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Louisa Syrett

Louisa Syrett is a global advocacy and partnerships leader with 20 years’ experience advancing gender equality, social justice and inclusive development through strategic alliances, policy advocacy and narrative change.
Nadiya Deferne
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Nadiya Deferne

Nadiya leads International Public Affairs at Santen, a global pharmaceutical company specialising in ophthalmology, where she has established the public affairs function with a focus on elevating eye health as a public health priority.

AI is rapidly reshaping what frontline eye care can achieve, but how can health systems harness its full potential?

Beyond individual tools, AI has the power to redistribute expertise, expand diagnostic reach, and strengthen workforce capacity, helping health systems overcome structural constraints and deliver care closer to communities. Through case-led insights and structured dialogue, participants will explore how AI is transforming frontline diagnostics and patient pathways, improving access and quality of care, and addressing key system constraints.

Key discussion elements

Exploring AI as a system enabler for diagnostic reach, workforce capacity, and scalable task-shifting
Examining how AI is reshaping frontline diagnostics and patient pathways
Strengthening access, quality, capability, and resilience through responsible AI integration
Reflecting on the governance, regulatory, and partnership conditions needed for sustainable system-wide impact

Room: Breakout 3 - Mt Kenya 1 & 2

Moderator

Oli Barrett
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Oli Barrett

Creator of the Build A Better Network Course and Co-founder of Children’s Literacy Campaign TOTS

Speakers

David Hunter Cherwek
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David Hunter Cherwek

Dr Hunter Cherwek is a global ophthalmologist and clinical training specialist with extensive experience in technology-enabled eye care, surgical training, and programmes to eliminate avoidable blindness in low-resource settings. He currently serves as Vice President, Clinical Services & Technologies at Orbis International.
Snider Mugese
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Snider Mugese

Snider Mugese is a finance and investment professional with 9+ years of experience supporting early-stage ventures across Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on healthcare and life sciences.
Wesley Ooga
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Wesley Ooga

I am a dedicated digital health professional passionate about leveraging technology to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes.
Prof Sile Yu
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Prof Sile Yu

A paediatrician and public health practitioner with a special focus on leveraging big data to build predictive models that assist clinicians in diagnosis and treatment, with a particular emphasis on integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into frontline healthcare to elevate the quality, accessibility, and efficiency of primary care services.

What will it take to strengthen and scale eye care across Francophone Africa?

This interactive session explores how countries across the region are addressing persistent barriers to avoidable vision impairment, from workforce shortages and limited funding to weaker partnership ecosystems. It will spotlight practical examples of innovation, training, and government-NGO collaboration that are beginning to shift what is possible.

Key discussion elements

Addressing workforce, funding, and partnership barriers
Learning from practical examples across Francophone Africa
Strengthening training models and government-NGO collaboration
Identifying opportunities to scale eye care services across the region

Room: Breakout 4 - Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Moderator

Henry Ebong Nkumbe
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Henry Ebong Nkumbe

Dr. Henry Ebong Nkumbe is a vitreo-retinal surgeon and healthcare executive, serving as CEO and Medical Director of the Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute (MICEI) in Yaoundé, one of Central Africa’s leading centres for subspecialty eye care.

Speakers

Bernard Agbor
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Bernard Agbor

Bernard Agbor is a seasoned senior eye care programs professional with vast experience in managing eye care projects. He has transformed the eye care landscape over time through impact driven programs and projects in Africa.
Benjamin des Gachons
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Benjamin des Gachons

Benjamin des Gachons is an international development and global health leader with over 20 years of experience designing and delivering high-impact programs across NGOs, philanthropic organizations, and digital civic platforms.
Thierry Nassouri
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Thierry Nassouri

Thierry Rock Nassouri is a distinguished Burkinabè professional who currently serves as the Country Director of GoodVision Burkina Faso. Since taking the helm in November 2021, he has dedicated his leadership to expanding access to essential vision care and cataract surgeries for vulnerable communities, particularly in the country's rural regions.

How do core interventions for cataract and refractive error achieve population-scale impact while delivering quality visual outcomes?

Cataract and refractive error are among the clearest indicators of whether eye health systems can deliver high-volume, high-quality care at scale. This session will explore how integration, workforce design, service efficiency, financing, and accountability can work together to strengthen effective coverage. In the lead-up to the Global Summit for Eye Health, it will also help clarify the policy, implementation, and financing commitments needed to accelerate progress to 2030.

Key discussion elements

Strengthening cataract and refractive error services within health systems
Expanding access while maintaining quality visual outcomes
Aligning workforce, service delivery, financing, and accountability
Identifying commitments needed to accelerate progress towards 2030

Room: Breakout 1 - Mt Kilimanjaro 2 & 3

Moderator

Oli Barrett
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Oli Barrett

Creator of the Build A Better Network Course and Co-founder of Children’s Literacy Campaign TOTS

Speakers

Amanda Davis
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Amanda Davis

Amanda Davis has been working in the area of blindness prevention and public health since 2006. Her experience spans advocacy, education, research, infrastructure development and funding; developing and managing relationships
Sumrana Yasmin
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Sumrana Yasmin

Sumrana Yasmin is the Technical Director of Inclusive Health at Sightsavers, based in Pakistan. She is a public health professional, and her work focuses on developing scalable, inclusive vision and eye care programmes
Geoffrey Wabulembo
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Geoffrey Wabulembo

Senior ophthalmologist and global health leader with extensive experience in clinical care, leadership in ophthalmology faculty positions, and multi-country health programs.
Josie Noah
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Josie Noah

Josie Noah serves as Chief Program Officer at Cure Blindness Project, overseeing program strategy, implementation and regional operations.
Jack Hennessy
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Jack Hennessy

Jack is an internationally recognised economist with extensive experience in health economics research, policy, advocacy, and evaluation.

How can targeted investment unlock system-wide gains in access, affordability, and quality?

This session explores how the six Value of Vision accelerators can strengthen eye care at national scale while demonstrating measurable return on investment. Designed for leaders shaping funding and delivery strategies, it will examine how targeted investment can drive systems change and expand access over the next five years.

Key discussion elements

Understanding the six investment accelerators for eye health
Exploring how targeted investment can strengthen eye care systems
Assessing stakeholder priorities and incentives across government, NGOs, private sector, professionals, and communities
Identifying priority accelerators and actions for national or organisational impact

Room: Mount Kenya 1 and 2

Moderators

Brenda Mareri
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Brenda Mareri

Brenda Mareri is a Systems Change Practitioner, Engagement Curator and moderator with 14+ years of cross-sectoral experience in regional food and nutrition development and sustainable development.
Njoki Wachira
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Njoki Wachira

Njoki Wachira has over 15 years of experience working in the health sector in East Africa. She joined Seva Foundation in 2024 as our Africa region Program Officer.

Speaker

Fabrizio D'Esposito
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Fabrizio D'Esposito

Fabrizio is the IAPB Head of Region for the Western Pacific Region. He is a public health specialist with over 15 years’ experience in advocacy, policy, program delivery, and research across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific.

Discussion Leads

Shaifali Sharma
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Shaifali Sharma

Shaifali Sharma is a seasoned development leader with over 20 years of experience spanning national and international organizations, as well as leading corporate CSR initiatives. She currently serves as Country Director, India, and Global Director – Primary Care at the Cure Blindness Project.
Gabriel Ogunyemi
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Gabriel Ogunyemi

Gabriel Ogunyemi is VisionSpring’s Africa Region Director. Gabriel is responsible for all business development and operations in our key markets– Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda - as well as indirect operations and expansion in other markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
Raphael Okumu
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Raphael Okumu

Academic-Academic excellence in Strategic Human Resource management. Competency skills in Peoples management, work culture, organizational development.
Kate Moynihan
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Kate Moynihan

Kate Moynihan is an impassioned leader and decision-maker who has overseen programs in networked organizations and social enterprises in resource-constrained settings, internationally and in the United States.
Jacqueline Grove
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Jacqueline Grove

Jacqueline Grove is a senior executive and global vision health leader serving as President of 20/20 Quest, National Vision’s Charitable Foundation, and Chief Executive Officer of The Coalition for Clear Vision.

Telehealth can transform access to eye care, but what makes connected care models work at scale?

From remote screening and consultation to coordinated referral pathways and shared data systems, telehealth offers new ways to reach underserved communities and reduce delays in care. Through case examples and discussion, delegates will explore what makes telehealth practical, sustainable, and integrated with wider health systems, and what governments and partners must address to move from pilots to lasting impact.

Key discussion elements

Understanding how telehealth can expand access and reduce delays in care
Learning from real-world examples of connected care models
Exploring the infrastructure, policy, and integration conditions needed for scale
Identifying what makes or breaks telehealth models beyond the pilot stage

Room: Mount Kilimanjaro 1

Moderator

Reshma Dabideen
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Reshma Dabideen

Senior global health and development consultant with over 25 years of leadership and advisory experience across Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA and international contexts.

Speakers

Hillary Rono
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Hillary Rono

Dr. Hillary Rono is an ophthalmologist and researcher serving as the Eye Coordinator for Trans Nzoia County, Kenya. With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Rono is a pioneer in delivering eye care to remote, underserved regions and a key leader in the global mission to eliminate avoidable blindness.
Caio Abujamra
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Caio Abujamra

Caio Abujamra is the President of the Suel Abujamra Institute and Co-CEO of the Juntos pela Visão alliance. He assumed leadership of the Institute in 2018, transforming it into the largest provider of ophthalmic services within Brazil’s public health system (SUS).
Shintaro Nakayama
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Shintaro Nakayama

Graduated from Hitotsubashi University Faculty of Law. Former COO/Vice President of Cross Fields. Experience in infrastructure projects in developing countries for 10 years in Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Mitsubishi Corporation, Joined OUI Inc.
Ciku Mathenge
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Ciku Mathenge

Cikũ Mathenge is a Consultant Ophthalmologist and Medical Retina specialist. She is a Co- Founder and Director of Training and Research at the Rwanda International Institute of Ophthalmology (RIIO) in Kigali, Rwanda.

How can intersectional approaches help eye health programmes reach those most often left behind?

Intersectional inequities shape who accesses eye care, who is excluded, and whose voices inform programme design. This session brings lived experience and practice-based insight to explore how intersectional approaches can strengthen eye health programming in real-world contexts. Participants will examine how moving beyond single-issue lenses can improve analysis, planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.

Key discussion elements

Understanding how intersectional inequities affect access to eye care
Bringing lived experience into programme design and decision-making
Applying intersectional approaches across planning, implementation, and evaluation
Strengthening eye health programmes to better reach excluded communities

Room: Breakout 4 - Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Moderator

Caroline Casey
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Caroline Casey

Caroline Casey is the businesswoman and activist behind The Valuable 500, the world’s largest CEO collective and business move for disability inclusion.

Speakers

Samson Waweru
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Samson Waweru

Samson Waweru is a proven transformational leader as attested by the remarkable achievements undergone by the Kenya Society for the Blind over the last 6 years. He has a background in Political Science and public administration.
Jacqueline Ramke
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Jacqueline Ramke

Jacqui’s research is focused on health equity. Her projects share a common goal of improving access to and outcomes of eye health services, particularly for cataract and refractive error as the leading causes of vision impairment.
Renata Watene
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Renata Watene

Renata Watene is a therapeutically qualified Māori optometrist, award-winning Indigenous eye health leader, and strategic clinical health leader from Aotearoa, with tribal affiliations to Ngā Puhi and Tainui.

Eye health has made significant progress, yet more than a billion people still live with avoidable sight loss. Is this a moment to rethink how vision is positioned on the global stage - not just as a health issue, but as a political, economic and societal priority?

This debate session will challenge established thinking and explore the future of the global eye health agenda beyond 2030. A series of bold motions will be put to those gathered, with speakers arguing for and against, and the audience invited to vote, challenge and contribute.

Join us as we ask: what will it take to make eye health impossible to ignore in the decade ahead?

Room: Breakout 1 - Mt Kilimanjaro 2 & 3

Moderator

Oli Barrett
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Oli Barrett

Creator of the Build A Better Network Course and Co-founder of Children’s Literacy Campaign TOTS

Speakers

Rohit Khanna
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Rohit Khanna

Dr. Rohit C Khanna is the Network Director for the Public Health Unit of L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) – The Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care.
Kathleen Sherwin
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Kathleen Sherwin

With more than 25 years of leadership experience in global health and development, Kathleen is committed to advancing eye health as a global priority and accelerating Orbis International’s impact worldwide as President & CEO.
Peter Milo
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Peter Milo

Peter Milo is the Country Director of The Fred Hollows Foundation in Kenya, where he leads efforts to end avoidable blindness through stronger, more accessible, and integrated eye care services.
Brandon Ah Tong
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Brandon Ah Tong

Brandon is the Director of Global Policy and Advocacy at The Fred Hollows Foundation, with more than 20 years’ experience across the health, disability, human rights, and international development sectors.

What high-priority research questions could most advance evidence-shaped action in global eye health?

This session will present the first public findings from the WHO Global Research Agenda for Eye Health project. It will outline priority research questions across cataract, refractive error, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and child eye health, and look ahead to the action needed to answer them.

Key discussion elements

Presenting the findings of the WHO Global Research Agenda for Eye Health project
Identifying key research priorities across major eye health areas
Exploring how research can support evidence-shaped action
Considering the next steps needed to turn priority questions into action

Room: Breakout 2 - Mt Kilimanjaro 1

Moderator

Matthew Burton
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Matthew Burton

Matthew Burton is the Director of the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) and Professor of Global Eye Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. ICEH is an international team of clinicians, scientists, economists and public health specialists, focused on research, education and capacity strengthening for global eye health.

Speakers

Abigail Steinberg
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Abigail Steinberg

Abigail Steinberg (“Abi”) is the Executive Director of the Eyeglasses Initiative at the Livelihood Impact Fund, managing a diverse portfolio of 25+ organizations across 15+ countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Sumrana Yasmin
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Sumrana Yasmin

Sumrana Yasmin is the Technical Director of Inclusive Health at Sightsavers, based in Pakistan. She is a public health professional, and her work focuses on developing scalable, inclusive vision and eye care programmes
Oteri Okolo
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Oteri Okolo

Dr. Oteri Eme OKOLO is a visionary public eye health ophthalmologist with expertise in program management and coordination, advocacy, stakeholder engagement and partnership building.
Sucheta Kulkarni
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Sucheta Kulkarni

Sucheta is an Ophthalmologist and a public health specialist. She hasover 28 years of professional experience in eye care services and a vast experience of training over 300 ophthalmologists and 100 allied ophthalmic personnel.
Stuart Keel
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Stuart Keel

Dr Stuart Keel leads the work on Vision and Eye Care in the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva.
Nyawira Mwangi
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Nyawira Mwangi

I am Dr Nyawira Mwangi, working at the intersection of eye heath, health systems, research, education and administration.
Jude Stern
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Jude Stern

Jude leads the IAPB knowledge agenda and team. Highlights from recent work include co-authoring The Value of Vision: the Case for Investing in Eye Health, the increase of use of the transformed Vision Atlas, the programme for IN SIGHT LIVE events, the Young Systems Leaders programme and the re-energised member engagement groups.
Fatima Kyari
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Fatima Kyari

Prof. Fatima Kyari is the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), where she provides strategic leadership for the regulation of medical and dental practice, professional conduct, and training standards nationwide.
Jacqueline Ramke
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Jacqueline Ramke

Jacqui’s research is focused on health equity. Her projects share a common goal of improving access to and outcomes of eye health services, particularly for cataract and refractive error as the leading causes of vision impairment.

Where and why do people fall out of the eye care pathway?

Led by voices with lived experience, this session explores how people-centred design can increase demand, strengthen trust and continuity, and improve effective coverage. It connects system performance directly to lived outcomes and examines how practical pathway improvements can sustain engagement with care.

Key discussion elements

Identifying where and why demand for eye care breaks down across the pathway
Understanding how gaps in continuity affect uptake, equity, and system performance
Exploring how lived experience can inform people-centred service design
Co-designing practical pathway improvements aligned with the 2030 In Sight strategy

Room: Breakout 3 - Mt Kenya 1 & 2

Moderator

Brenda Mareri
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Brenda Mareri

Brenda Mareri is a Systems Change Practitioner, Engagement Curator and moderator with 14+ years of cross-sectoral experience in regional food and nutrition development and sustainable development.

Speakers

Josie Noah
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Josie Noah

Josie Noah serves as Chief Program Officer at Cure Blindness Project, overseeing program strategy, implementation and regional operations.
Anne Makau
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Anne Makau

I’m a public health professional based in Nairobi County, Kenya, currently serving as a Deputy Sub-County Community Coordinator and Community Health Officer Kibra Subcounty.
Samson Waweru
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Samson Waweru

Samson Waweru is a proven transformational leader as attested by the remarkable achievements undergone by the Kenya Society for the Blind over the last 6 years. He has a background in Political Science and public administration.
Aurelia Tanki
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Aurelia Tanki

Aurelia Tanki is a Certified Human Resources practitioner working as a Human Resource Business Partner at Amaco Insurance. She is also a Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) advocate with lived experience of navigating the challenges of visible eye-related conditions.

How can Indigenous knowledge and leadership shape more equitable eye care systems?

Ancestral knowledge and Indigenous worldviews are crucial to creating equitable outcomes with Indigenous communities. In this session, delegates will hear from Indigenous experts and explore how Indigenous leadership, innovation, and strengths-based approaches can be better integrated into eye care systems. The session will also consider the role of allies in supporting Indigenous Peoples’ eye care outcomes and invite participants to reflect on how these insights can challenge practice in their own context.

Key discussion elements

Recognising the role of Indigenous knowledge, leadership, and worldviews in eye health equity
Learning from Indigenous Peoples’ experiences and expertise
Understanding the role of allies in supporting and advancing Indigenous Peoples’ eye care outcomes
Reflecting on how to apply these insights within participants’ own spheres of influence

Room: Breakout 4 - Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Moderator

Jaki Adams
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Jaki Adams

Jaki has over 30 years’ experience in government and non-government/international development sectors. In 2025 joined the Lowitja Institute as the Executive Manager Research and Knowledge Translation.

Speakers

Melesse Akalu
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Melesse Akalu

A social development professional with more than 18 years’ experience in programme development and management. Currently leading the programme team of Sightsavers Pakistan Country Office.
Danny Teece
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Danny Teece

A Gomeroi man from Moree, NSW, Danny is a communications and engagement professional and filmmaker with nearly 25 years’ experience in purpose-driven storytelling. Inspired by the work of Jaki Adams, he brought his skills to The Fred Hollows Foundation to help close the gap in eye health for Indigenous Australians.
Tsedeke Alemu
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Tsedeke Alemu

Dr Tsedeke is a consultant ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon with a Master’s degree in Medical Education. He is an active researcher with publications in ophthalmology and medical education, focusing on practical challenges in training, service delivery, and health systems to inform policy and practice.
Renata Watene
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Renata Watene

Renata Watene is a therapeutically qualified Māori optometrist, award-winning Indigenous eye health leader, and strategic clinical health leader from Aotearoa, with tribal affiliations to Ngā Puhi and Tainui.

The meeting will share the Sightsavers and CBM experience of a partnership model that provides a single entry point for partners, governments, and donors to access high-quality technical assistance and large-scale implementation. The session will feature interactive dialogue with CEOs Dr. Caroline Harper and Dr. Rainer Brockhaus, who will demonstrate how this partnership leverages combined expertise and decades of collaboration to protect sight and transform national systems, especially as the shifting global environment demands efficiency and the ability to deliver solutions at scale.

Room: Breakout 4 - Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Africa region breakfast meeting

Room: Mt Kenya 1 & 2

JNJ Partner Meeting

Room: Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Specsavers & FHF

Room: Mt Kenya 3

He Vision Group Partner Meeting

Room: Mt Elgon 1

How do we move from knowing what works to delivering impact at scale?

The Member Engagement Group Day opens 2030 IN SIGHT LIVE by bringing the sector together to confront the system-level barriers that stand in the way. Moving beyond projects and programmes, it positions MEGs as engines of collaboration and collective action, creating a shared frame for stronger alignment, deeper integration, and meaningful commitments toward the first-ever Global Summit for Eye Health and 2030.

Room: Mt Kilimanjaro

Integrating eye health in humanitarian response: from service provision, with best practices to supply availability.

This session by the Humanitarian Response Work Group will explore how to effectively integrate eye health into humanitarian response frameworks, focusing on strengthening service provision through proven best practices and coordinated approaches. The session will also include a featured session by UNICEF highlighting the availability of key assistive technology solutions that support eye health interventions for individuals with vision, hearing, mobility, and developmental disabilities across the continuum of care, from screening and diagnosis to treatment and rehabilitation.

Room: Mt Kilimanjaro 1

Tools to Impact: Climate-Resilient, Gender-Responsive Eye Health

This session by the Climate Action Work Group introduces the Sightsavers climate resilience and environmental sustainability toolkit, alongside new guidance on climate and gender in eye health. Participants will explore how these resources can be applied in practice, share experiences, and discuss opportunities for collaboration. The session will also identify key barriers to uptake to help strengthen implementation across the sector.

Room: Mt Kenya 1 & 2

Scaling Refractive Error Services

This session by the Refractive Error Strategy Group brings together bold, actionable strategies to accelerate equitable access to refractive error services. Join us to discover how strengthening government capacity can expand reach, how market-driven approaches can scale access and how technology-enabled task-shifting is reshaping service delivery.

Room: Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Collective Discussion on Indigenous Peoples Eye Health and Harnessing our Networks

Join a global discussion on Indigenous Peoples eye health - a space of shared learning through strength-based approaches and future gazing of realistic and respectful insights.

Room: Mt Kenya 1 & 2

Disability inclusion: real world insights for systems change

This interactive session by the Disability Inclusion Work Group brings together organisations of persons with disabilities and government representatives to explore barriers to accessing eye care and identify practical solutions. The session will also have a discussion on the systems change and how the Global Summit for Eye Health can help facilitate it.

Room: Mt Kilimanjaro 1

Improving Cataract Quality through Advocacy and Guideline Implementation

Join the Cataract Strategy Group's workshop to advance discussions on two workstreams: advocacy and implementation. Through facilitated table discussions, participants will focus on developing a prioritized resource list that will guide the implementation workstream and discussing how to advance advocacy efforts on cataract quality ahead of the Global Summit. Come prepared to engage and contribute.

Room: Mt Elgon 2 & 3

From Pilot to Scale

The session by the Technology of Access Work Group will explore what are the key barriers and what needs to shift in your eco system to enable successful pilots to go to scale.

Room: Mt Kilimanjaro 1

Advancing Women’s and Girls’ Eye Health in Africa in the lead up to the Global Summit for Eye Health

Following on from the IAPB Africa Eye Health Leadership & Global Summit Commitments Dialogue held on 06 May 2026 in Johannesburg; the aim of this meeting is to deep dive into eye health as an economic, social and development issue with a women and girls focus. It is open to all Gender Equity Work Group members and those interested in the topic area.

Room: Mt Kenya 1 & 2

Diabetic Retinopathy

Room: Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Innovation is reshaping the future of eye health. Through advances in diagnostics, clinical and surgical technologies, training tools, data systems, and technology-enabled community service delivery models, innovation is helping us reach further, work smarter, and close gaps in access to care. But innovation only creates impact when it is accepted, adopted, integrated, and scaled.

The Innovation Showcase, led by the IAPB Technology for Access Member Engagement Group, will spotlight solutions that are strengthening health systems, removing barriers to care, and accelerating progress towards 2030 In Sight.

Room: Mt Kilimanjaro 1

Advancing Women’s and Girls’ Eye Health in Africa in the lead up to the Global Summit for Eye Health

Following on from the IAPB Africa Eye Health Leadership & Global Summit Commitments Dialogue held on 06 May 2026 in Johannesburg; the aim of this meeting is to deep dive into eye health as an economic, social and development issue with a women and girls focus. It is open to all Gender Equity Work Group members and those interested in the topic area.

Room: Mt Kenya 1 & 2

Led by Dr Ibrahim Matende, President of the College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COECSA), the session will focus on the need to strengthen glaucoma screening, shifting from the current emphasis of most programmes in Kenya on cataract interventions.

Room: Mt Kenya 3

The meeting draws on CBM Vision Impact Project’s experience in Kenya to highlight how people‑centered data systems, digital innovation, and long‑term investment can transform fragmented eye care into strong, integrated health systems—making the invisible visible and ensuring no one is left behind.

Through insights from large‑scale screening, end‑to‑end patient pathways, and cross‑sector partnerships, the session will demonstrate how big data and big investment when matched deliver better returns.

Room: Mt Elgon 1

Population ageing is reshaping societies around the world, creating both significant challenges and important opportunities. For the eye health field, this demographic shift represents a critical opportunity for impact, as people aged 50 and over account for the vast majority of avoidable vision loss globally. Advancing eye health among older populations will therefore be essential to accelerating progress in the years ahead. As countries adapt to population ageing, there is growing recognition that eye health must become a central component of healthy ageing efforts, supporting independence, participation and wellbeing throughout later life.

This session will bring together leaders from the eye health and ageing sectors to explore how countries are beginning to better connect these agendas through policy, governance and service delivery. Building on recent regional dialogues in Asia and Africa, the discussion will highlight practical country experiences, emerging partnerships and opportunities for action in the lead up to the Global Summit for Eye Health.

Room: Mt Elgon 1

827 million people need presbyopia correction. The eye care sector alone won't reach them. How do we?

This session brings together implementers from Africa and South Asia who are answering that question by embedding presbyopia programs into health systems, agricultural initiatives, and livelihood organizations.

How are they adapting our sector's technical training?
What partnerships actually work?
How do we translate our expertise in supply chain and demand generation to catalyse impact at scale?

Hear directly from practitioners redefining what it means to solve this problem.

Room: Mt Kenya 3

Christian Blind Mission and HelpMeSee invite you to join a focused discussion at IAPB Insight 2030 on advancing eye health initiatives across Africa.

This session will bring together perspectives from CBM, THEA, Cure Blindness, and HelpMeSee, featuring brief presentations, a roundtable discussion, and an open forum. The conversation will explore current efforts, identify gaps, and highlight opportunities for collaboration to expand access to care. We hope you can join us for this important exchange. Please feel free to forward this invitation to those who would also benefit.

Room: Mt Kenya 3

Coming Soon..

Room: Mt Elgon 2 & 3

Join eye health professionals and government representatives to explore the Global Vision Impact Awards, a unique funding opportunity to accelerate the expansion of refractive error services. Offering direct support from policy design to implementation, the awards help governments build capacity, strengthen systems, and scale access to affordable eye care, including presbyopia correction.

This session will outline eligibility, application processes, and funding pathways, alongside insights from partners already advancing this work. Hosted by the Livelihood Impact Fund and Vital Strategies, the session will highlight a WHO-aligned approach to transforming national eye health systems.

Learn more about the award here.

Room: Mt Elgon 1

What will it take to translate the strong economic case for eye health into national budget allocations?

This session demystifies how eye health competes for, and wins, space in national budgets. It explores how investment decisions are made and how to present finance-ready cases that resonate with ministries of finance, planning, and development partners. Drawing on the Value of Vision investment case, participants will examine how evidence, framing, and coordinated advocacy can help turn the case for eye health into credible budget allocations.

Key discussion elements

Understanding what decision-makers look for when allocating budgets
Framing the Value of Vision through economic, social, and political priorities
Learning from real-world examples of eye health influencing national budgets and development partners
Aligning government, NGOs, private sector, philanthropy, professionals, and the public around stronger investment cases

Moderators

Jude Stern
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Jude Stern

Jude leads the IAPB knowledge agenda and team. Highlights from recent work include co-authoring The Value of Vision: the Case for Investing in Eye Health, the increase of use of the transformed Vision Atlas, the programme for IN SIGHT LIVE events, the Young Systems Leaders programme and the re-energised member engagement groups.
Fabrizio D'Esposito
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Fabrizio D'Esposito

Fabrizio is the IAPB Head of Region for the Western Pacific Region. He is a public health specialist with over 15 years’ experience in advocacy, policy, program delivery, and research across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific.

Speakers

Aaron Magava
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Aaron Magava

Dr Aaron Thembinkosi Magava is a Zimbabwean Qphthalmologist and Public Eye Health Specialist with extensive experience in clinical care, health systems strengthening, and regional policy development.
Amanda Davis
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Amanda Davis

Amanda Davis has been working in the area of blindness prevention and public health since 2006. Her experience spans advocacy, education, research, infrastructure development and funding; developing and managing relationships
Jennifer Chen
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Jennifer Chen

Jennifer Chen is Chief Executive of The Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, the global foundation which champions initiatives focused on vision correction and early childhood literacy.
Daniel Mwai
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Daniel Mwai

Dr. Daniel Mwai, is the Presidential Advisor Health in the Executive Office of the President. A leading Health Economist and Health Financing Specialist in Kenya and the region.
Ngoc Pham
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Ngoc Pham

As the Country Director of Orbis Vietnam, Pham Kim Ngoc leads the strategic and operational management of the country office, ensuring the successful implementation of Orbis’s mission in Vietnam.

If a crisis hit tomorrow, what would we wish we had built three years ago?

This session uses real-world cases to stress-test eye health systems under climate and crisis pressures. Delegates will hear grounded examples of how programmes and countries, including in African contexts, have adapted service delivery during disruption, what held up, what failed, and what trade-offs were made under pressure. The session will challenge participants to think differently about how resilience is designed and financed, and where current funding and programme models may unintentionally leave systems fragile.

Key discussion elements

Learning from real-world examples of eye health service adaptation during climate and crisis disruptions
Exploring the system features that support resilience, including workforce, service delivery, supply chains, infrastructure, and data
Examining the investment and design trade-offs involved in building resilient eye health systems

Moderator

Brenda Mareri
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Brenda Mareri

Brenda Mareri is a Systems Change Practitioner, Engagement Curator and moderator with 14+ years of cross-sectoral experience in regional food and nutrition development and sustainable development.

Speakers

Imran Khan
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Imran Khan

Dr. Imran A. Khan has 20 years of experience across international development, academia, and clinical work. He is the Director of Programme Strategy and Development at Sightsavers, where he leads the strategic and technical direction of the organization’s work in eye health, education, and inclusion.
Dennis Soendergaard
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Dennis Soendergaard

While trained as a traditional bureaucrat, holding a degree in political science, Dennis has worked the last twenty years within health development specializing in assistive technology.
Merle Fernandes
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Merle Fernandes

Dr Fernandes completed her under- and post-graduate training at Goa Medical College, Goa and did a fellowship in Cornea and Anterior Segment at LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Hyderabad in 2001. She completed a post doctoral fellowship in Ocular Surface Immunology, under the mentorship of Professor Reza Dana at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston in 2015.

What would it take to align the eye health sector around shared indicators and joined-up data?

This session launches the Data for Success Framework, designed to bring greater alignment to eye health data and support better decision-making, clearer accountability, and stronger sector advocacy. Through case studies, it will showcase practical approaches to strengthening data ecosystems from national to global levels.

Key discussion elements

Introducing the Data for Success Framework
Aligning the sector around shared indicators and joined-up data
Strengthening data systems for decision-making, accountability, and advocacy
Learning from practical case studies across national and global data ecosystems

Moderator

Anthea Burnett
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Anthea Burnett

Dr Anthea Burnett is the Head of Data & Evidence at IAPB, with over 15 years of international public health experience.

Speakers

Adrienne Pizatella
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Adrienne Pizatella

Adrienne Pizatella is on the Public Health team at Bloomberg Philanthropies. She supports the Tobacco Control Initiative, the Data for Health Initiative and is newly supporting the Vision Initiative - a two-year commitment to address vision needs globally.
Stuart Keel
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Stuart Keel

Dr Stuart Keel leads the work on Vision and Eye Care in the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva.
Anthea Burnett
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Anthea Burnett

Dr Anthea Burnett is the Head of Data & Evidence at IAPB, with over 15 years of international public health experience.
Beatrice Varga
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Beatrice Varga

Beatrice Varga is Senior Director, US Programs and Partnerships at The Fred Hollows Foundation, bringing over 17 years of experience across academia, INGOs, and the private sector.
Dr. Monicah Bitok
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Dr. Monicah Bitok

Dr. Monicah Bitok is a public health expert and ophthalmologist with over 15 years of experience spanning clinical practice, health policy, and public health programming.
Ola Al-Shurbaji
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Ola Al-Shurbaji

Ola Al-Shurbaji is a Senior Project Manager at the Institute for Family Health, a King Hussein Foundation institution, where she leads a national eye health integration program in Jordan.
Iris Van den Brande
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Iris Van den Brande

For over a decade, I have had the privilege of working with the patient and policy community to build sustainable, trusting relationships between people living with different conditions and the private sector.

What is working now across policy, financing and service delivery?

Session 3 of the Rapid Fire sessions with curated presentations from the call for submissions.

Does Health Insurance Protect from Catastrophic Health Expenditure on Cataract Surgery? Evidence from Rural China
Productivity Study of Presbyopia Elimination in Garment Workers (PROSPER II): A randomized trial
Building Capacity of Community Health Workers and Ophthalmic Assistants for Comprehensive Community-Based Blindness Prevention Globally
Competency Based Training LMS for Allied Ophthalmic Personnel
EyeTeach: Multiplying Eye Care Workforce Capacity Through Strategic Faculty Development
Initiating Low Vision Services in Vietnam: Building Pioneer Models through Capacity Building and International Partnership
Breaking Barriers to Integrated Eye Health in Fragile and Underdeveloped Settings: An Ophthalmic Nurse-Led Model from Haiti and the Caribbean

Chairs

Cindy Ogundo
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Cindy Ogundo

Dr. Cindy is a dedicated consultant ophthalmologist and public health specialist whose work bridges patient care, research, and education.
Adam Askew
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Adam Askew

Adam Askew is Chief Executive of the Vision Catalyst Fund, a resource mobilisation platform supporting low- and middle-income governments to access sustainable finance for eye care. He brings nearly 20 years of experience in partnerships, campaigns, and funding, with deep expertise in philanthropy and innovative finance.

Presenters

Juania Auguste
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Juania Auguste

Juania Mela Mora Cuna Auguste is an ophthalmic nurse from Haiti dedicated to advancing equitable access to eye care through prevention, education, and community outreach.
Jack Hennessy
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Jack Hennessy

Jack is an internationally recognised economist with extensive experience in health economics research, policy, advocacy, and evaluation.
Anshu Singh
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Anshu Singh

Anshu Singh, based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, is a public health professional with nearly a decade of experience in the eye care sector. She holds a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication
Vinod Daniel
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Vinod Daniel

Vinod Daniel is the CEO and Managing Trustee of India Vision Institute. He has been associated with IVI since its inception. He is the recipient of the Association of Community Ophthalmologists of India (ACOIN) Golden Eye Award in 2012
Dhivya Ramasamy
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Dhivya Ramasamy

Dhivya Ramasamy is the Executive Director at LAICO, the training and consulting arm of Aravind Eye Care System, based in Madurai, India. She has experience in healthcare management and training within the eye care sector, working on consultancy projects with hospitals in India, Bangladesh, and Zambia.
Sonia Pant
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Sonia Pant

Dr Sonia is a public health specialist with over a decade of experience, specializing in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research (MER), strategic program management, and capacity building.
Nguyen Thi Thuy
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Nguyen Thi Thuy

I began my career as a Refraction Technician, spending years in clinical settings dedicated to restoring clear vision for individual patients. However, witnessing firsthand how many people remain in darkness simply due to a lack of access to basic eye care, I realized that sitting at a diagnostic table limited the scale of help I could provide.

This meeting will explore how optometry training can be translated into sustainable, locally relevant service delivery models across Africa. He Eye Specialist Hospital will introduce their new optometrist strengthening initiative and experiences from Cameroon, followed by an engaging discussion on real-world challenges, practical business models, partnerships, innovation, and future opportunities to support early-career practitioners.

Room: Mt Elgon 1

Hosted by Suel Abujamra Institute in partnership with GoodVision Brazil/ Renovatio, this breakfast session will explore innovative and scalable models for delivering eye care across Brazil’s most underserved regions. From urban peripheries to remote Indigenous communities in the Amazon Forest.

The session will showcase how a collaborative ecosystem of organizations integrates mobile clinics, surgical referral networks, teleophthalmology, artificial intelligence, portable diagnostic technologies, and public-private partnerships to expand access to eye care at scale.

Participants will gain insights into Brazil’s unique healthcare landscape, the patient journey model developed by the alliance, and how large-scale eye care initiatives are being transformed into sustainable public health strategies.

The event will also present the work and impact of the organizations Instituto Suel Abujamra and GoodVision Brazil/ Renovatio, highlighting results achieved in 2025 and the vision for expanding access and innovation in 2026.

Room: Mt Kenya 3

New to IAPB or want a refresher on all things membership?

Join Caroline Casey, IAPB President, Peter Holland, IAPB CEO, and Rachael Bourke, IAPB Senior Membership Manager, to find out how to get the most out of IAPB membership and be involved in our activities.

Room: Mount Kenya 1 & 2

UNICEF will present its Strategic Plan priority of screening 90 million children and provide access to services and assistive technology when needed. This session will be an opportunity to discuss current practices related to screening and early identification, and exchange ideas on how impact may be achieved at scale by building on the strengths of different sectors and organizations.

Room: Mt Kenya 3

Join this informal drop-in session to explore the latest updates to Vision Atlas, ask questions, and share your feedback with the team.

Room: Mt Kenya 1 and 2

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