"This is not an initiative; this is at
the core of our business mission to
improve the lives of all Canadians
by improving their sight."
We know that we cannot work in silos
and that reaching 35 million Canadians
requires many networks with the same
vision coming together to make a real
difference in bringing awareness and
access to all Canadians for this cause.
Q. How will people benefit from
Essilor’s mission?
A. The cost of vision loss in Canada is
estimated to be over $15.8 billion annually, with 68% of adults with vision
loss being unemployed. (National
Coalition for Vision Health)
We have to acknowledge that there
are large numbers of children with
uncorrected refractive errors. Most
concerning is the fact that 60% of
Canadian children with reading difficulties have undetected or uncorrected
vision problems. (National Coalition
for Vision Health).
Vision loss is the largest preventable
disability in the world. (IAPB-WHO)
Awareness is key. Unfortunately eye
health has not yet become a priority for
most Canadians. Do we believe that by
bringing awareness to all it will resolve
the largest disability effecting
Canadians today? It’s a first step. Every
Canadian needs to be made aware of
the importance of vision correction
and protection. Children are a major
priority for us. We believe early detection is crucial and that by getting every
child into an optometrist’s chair for a
comprehensive eye examination on a
regular basis, we give them a lifelong
opportunity at socioeconomic success
and eye health well-being. Other
priority groups include those who truly
do not have access to eye care and
eyewear today, either due to their
20 Optical Prism | September 2016
geographical situation or their income
status. We intend to ensure both
categories are served through innovative and entrepreneurial endeavors
which are a big part of Essilor’s DNA.
We want to ensure that every corner
of this nation has access to
sustainable eye care.
We also intend to strive through Essilor
Vision Foundation and partnerships
with other charities to further address
this need in Canada; a need which is
often unrecognized due to the affluent
nature of our country.
Q. Why is this initiative important
to Essilor?
A. I want to be clear that this is not
an initiative; this is at the core of our
business mission to improve the lives
of all Canadians by improving their
sight. It should also be important to all
of us and we know from much dialogue
around this issue that it is in fact top
of mind for many in our industry. We
intend to work closely with those who
value this mission and want to see
change.
Q. How can the public support
the Essilor Mission?
A. We need to take ownership of the
fact that there is a lack of awareness
and engagement from the public and
government on this issue. In this way,
we can work together as stakeholders
to bring this awareness to the public
first and foremost. Our industry has
many efforts currently underway in
these areas. We envision joining some
of these efforts to create bigger and
more coordinated awareness initiatives
to ultimately better serve Canadians.
From a charitable perspective, there
are many ways to get engaged with
Essilor Vision Foundation (EVF) in
Canada. We are very proud to announce
that we have recently received
charitable status and will be partnering
with industry and other charitable
organizations to bring access to those
who are limited by their economic
and geographical position in Canada.
From donating to help support our
mission, to volunteering and partnering
with EVF to provide services directly
to individuals in need, we believe there
is unlimited opportunity to create
change in Canada.
Sources:
http://brienholdenvision.org/media-centre/
latest- news/1062-half- the-world- to-be- shortsighted-by- 2050.html; World Health Organization www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/
fs282/en/; Vision health coalition report - 2007
www.cos-sco.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/
VisionLossinCanada_e.pdf. http://www.who.int/
mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/