Policy paper

Essilor International

Published 23 July 2018

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

Form for submitting commitments for the Global Disability Summit 2018

IMPORTANT: Please refer to the accompanying guidance note for advice on completing this form and please fill in all four sections in English.

Your organisation:

Type of organisation: Private Sector Organisation

If other: Click or tap here to enter text.

Name of organisation Essilor International

Charter for Change

Please read the attached Summit Charter for Change: the principal legacy of the Summit. If your organisation is happy to sign up to the Charter, please confirm by putting a cross in the box below.

My organisation signs up to the Summit Charter for Change ☒

Your organisation’s commitments to achieve the rights of people with disabilities in developing countries:

Commitments for Inclusive Education

Please select the category which your commitment most relates to: Policy, standards and regulations

Please enter the exact wording of the commitment/s, including details of others who have supported its development (75 words limit):

80% of what children learn is perceived through their eyes; glasses can therefore have a huge impact on their educational outcomes. Essilor advocates at global and national level to make vision a priority in school health programmes. Essilor’s social impact fund, Vision for Life, is co-founder of Our Children’s Vision, a global coalition of more than 75 partners who have collectively committed to bring eye health services to at least 50 million children worldwide by 2020. The coalition has also developed a comprehensive set of Standard School Eye Health Guidelines which include of recommendations to be integrated in general child-health policies and can help facilitate school eye health programmes.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan (75 words limit)

Please copy and paste this box for additional commitments under this theme.

Commitments for Economic Empowerment

Please select the category which your commitment most relates to: Skills development for decent work

Please enter the exact wording of the commitment/s, including details of others who have supported its development (75 words limit):

Create 25,000 primary vision care providers and micro-entrepreneurs in underserved areas to generate employment and alleviate poverty by 2020. In partnership with various local training institutions, Essilor trains young under-employed or unemployed youth to become primary vision care providers. They are then able to set up a micro-enterprise providing eye care services and dispense eyeglasses to members of their communities. 10,000 of the people trained will become Vision Ambassadors who will be able to sell readymade eyeglasses (reading glasses) and sunglasses to members of rural communities who don’t have access to conventional distribution channels.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan (75 words limit): 2013 to 2020

Please select the category which your commitment most relates to: Other

Please enter the exact wording of the commitment/s, including details of others who have supported its development (75 words limit):

Improve the lives of 50 million individuals at the “base of the pyramid” through vision correction by 2020. Uncorrected refractive error has a direct impact on productivity and earning potential; according to the WHO, every year uncorrected poor vision costs the global economy $272 billion in lost productivity. (Smith et al, 2009 adjusted to 2015 population data). Thus, for every person provided with corrective glasses, the increase in productivity for the global economy is estimated to be more than $100. Therefore, our 2020 commitment will result in an estimated gain in global productivity of more than $5 billion per year.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan (75 words limit): 2013 to 2020

Other Commitments

Please enter the exact wording of any other commitment/s that do not fall under the themes above, including details of others who have supported its development (75 words limit):

Commitment to the Vision Catalyst Fund spearheaded by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust to eradicate poor vision by 2050. Essilor is one of the first strategic partners who committed their support to the $1bn Vision Catalyst Fund, launched in March 2018. This commitment will help create systems and partnerships that can bring vision care to the most vulnerable across the commonwealth countries and beyond. As part of the commitment, Essilor will also donate 200 million pairs of ophthalmic lenses by 2030 through the fund’s initiatives to help those most in need.