WCO expands global drive to close myopia care gaps

Training, education, and partnerships aim to improve care across resource levels.

The World Council of Optometry (WCO) is intensifying its global efforts to standardise myopia management as growing disparities in care emerge between high- and low-resource regions.

“There are some places that have less access to whether it's atropine or a biometer to assess axial length. The goal really needs to be looking at the evidence that's out there, utilizing that within their scope of practice,” said Dr. Sandra Block, President of WCO and Professor Emeritus at Illinois College of Optometry.

To address these gaps, WCO has introduced curriculum standards focused on core competencies for optometrists regardless of their country’s access to technology. “You may not have accessibility for a biometer or an OCT, but you know how to use them and you know how to interpret them,” Dr. Block told Healthcare Asia during the 2025 Asia-Pacific Myopia Management Symposium in Hong Kong.

While advanced technologies like AI are growing in popularity, WCO stresses that clinical judgment remains the cornerstone of myopia care. “AI is just a tool. Technology is a tool to do a better job. It’s really the clinician and their knowledge and expertise that makes a decision as to whether to offer myopia management and what the appropriate interventions are,” Dr. Block emphasised.

WCO is also working to expand corporate partnerships to widen its reach, especially in Asia-Pacific. “Our goal really is to expand our partners within myopia...so that our goal is really to expand the knowledge and awareness of myopia management far beyond what we have now,” she said.