Vision

Mission

The WHO SPECS 2030 initiative has the mission to support Member States with the achievement of the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly endorsed 2030 target on effective refractive error coverage.

The initiative calls for coordinated global action amongst all stakeholders across 5 strategic pillars, in line with the letters of SPECS, to address the key challenges to improving refractive error coverage.

Why do we have the SPECS 2030 initiative?

Uncorrected refractive error is the leading cause of vision impairment in child and adult populations. Globally, it is estimated that only 36% of people with a distance vision impairment due to refractive error have received access to an appropriate pair of spectacles, while more than 800 million people have a near vision impairment (i.e. presbyopia) that could be addressed with a pair of reading spectacles. In recognition of the large unmet need for care, coupled with the fact a highly cost-effective intervention exists (i.e. spectacles), WHO Member States endorsed the first-ever global target for refractive error at the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly (2021). Specifically, the global target is a 40-percentage point increase in effective coverage of refractive error by 2030.