Five-year roadmap aims to strengthen early detection, treatment and continuity of eye care, with benefits for students, older people and communities across the country
Bhutan has set a new direction for eye health through the launch of its National Eye Care Strategy 2026–2030, placing the focus on how the country can strengthen services, identify vision problems earlier and improve access to treatment over the next five years.
The National Medical Services (NMS), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), launched the strategy during the World Sight Day observance held from 8 to 10 October 2026. The event brought together the Health Minister, healthcare professionals from facilities across Bhutan, and representatives from WHO, Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh (NNJS) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
The strategy is intended to guide the delivery of eye care across the healthcare system. Its practical significance will depend on how effectively national priorities are translated into accessible services, particularly for people who need early assessment, treatment or continued care.
According to WHO’s published account of Bhutan’s eye health planning, the country’s previous eye health strategy expired in 2024, prompting work on a new framework to guide the next phase of service development.
In a notice published on 21 May 2025, WHO said the development of the strategy would draw on the 2018 Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness, a nationwide study of refractive errors among children conducted in 2018, an eye care system assessment undertaken with the Ministry of Health in 2020, and findings from the National Health Survey 2023.
These assessments provide a basis for identifying gaps and setting priorities rather than relying on assumptions about the population’s needs. WHO said the strategy-development process was intended to review available evidence, consult stakeholders, establish priorities and prepare a costed plan for implementation.
The new strategy therefore represents a policy response to the need for sustained planning in eye health. However, the announcement of its launch does not, by itself, establish how many additional people will receive services or how much funding and staffing will be allocated.
The strategy aligns with WHO’s Integrated People-Centred Eye Care framework, which emphasises connecting eye health services with the wider healthcare system.
In practice, this approach can support a more coordinated pathway from identifying a vision problem to receiving an examination, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Its success will depend on service availability, trained health workers, equipment, referral arrangements and resources.
For students, timely identification of refractive errors could help address blurred vision that makes reading and classroom activities difficult. Appropriate assessment and access to prescribed spectacles can support learning, although the strategy’s launch announcement does not report new school-screening targets or confirmed benefits already delivered.
For working-age people, timely eye care can help address vision difficulties that affect daily activities and work. Older people may benefit from earlier assessment of conditions such as cataracts, allowing them to seek appropriate treatment before their vision problems become more disabling.
People in remote communities could also benefit if implementation improves access to screening, referrals and treatment closer to where they live. Whether these improvements occur will depend on how services are organised and distributed across the country.
WHO’s World Sight Day statement of 8 October 2026 highlights the continuing global burden of vision impairment. It estimates that 2.2 billion people worldwide live with near or distance vision impairment and says nearly half of these cases could have been addressed through interventions such as surgery or spectacles.
WHO also identifies uncorrected refractive errors and cataracts among the leading causes of vision impairment. These conditions demonstrate why early assessment and access to effective treatment remain important public health priorities.
The organisation’s Integrated People-Centred Eye Care framework promotes the inclusion of eye health in primary healthcare and wider health planning. For Bhutan, aligning national planning with this approach provides a framework for improving coordination and monitoring progress towards better access to services.
The National Eye Care Strategy 2026–2030 establishes a framework for strengthening eye health, but its impact will need to be assessed through implementation and measurable results.
Key indicators for the public will include whether people can access timely eye examinations, whether treatment and prescribed spectacles are available when needed, and whether referral and follow-up services function effectively.
The World Sight Day observance, coordinated globally by IAPB, was held under the theme “Every Story Counts”, highlighting the importance of people’s experiences in shaping attention to eye health.
For Bhutan, the next challenge is to turn the strategy into practical improvements that people can experience in their communities. Progress towards 2030 will ultimately be reflected in the accessibility, quality and continuity of eye care—not simply in the launch of a national plan.
