2025’s edition of Myopia Awareness Week homes in on the need for outdoor time and balanced near-work, calling for balanced lifestyle changes to protect vision.
Sydney, 6 May 2025 – With myopia rates rising at an alarming pace, BHVI and Review of Myopia Management are leading the charge once again with Myopia Awareness Week 2025, running from May 19-25. This year’s theme, “Screens Down, Eyes Up,” seeks to highlight the changes we must make to our lifestyles to keep healthy sight, calling for individuals, families, and healthcare professionals to take action.
“Myopia Awareness Week is a clear reminder that when we unite as an eyecare sector, our collective impact can be far greater. Through continued collaboration, we are better positioned to address this escalating public health challenge. We need to spread the message that children who don’t spend enough time outdoors are at greater risk of developing myopia, which can progress to irreversible vision loss. While we don’t yet know everything about myopia, we know far too much to remain passive,” said Yvette Waddell, CEO, BHVI.
Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is an increasingly common ocular disorder and the leading cause of visual impairment in children.[1] Studies have predicted that the global prevalence of myopia will rise from 28% of the world’s population, or two billion people in 2010, to 50% of the world’s population, or five billion people in 2050.[2] Uncorrected myopia is a leading cause of blindness worldwide.[3]
Myopia Awareness Week 2025 urges people to adopt four essential habits for myopia prevention and management:
- Myopia, Let’s Talk About It – Encouraging open conversations about myopia risks, prevention strategies, and treatment advancements, with colleagues, parents, children and (especially) eye care practitioners.
- Make Myopia Matter – Take the pledge to make myopia management a part of your daily routine and keep up to date with the latest treatments and management techniques.
- Screen Smart, Vision Strong – Promoting healthy screen and near-work habits, having daily outdoor time and employing screen time reduction tools on smart phones and electronic devices.
- Check In for Clear Vision – Reinforcing the importance of regular eye exams for early detection and effective management of myopia.
“After such an unbelievably successful campaign last year, Review of Myopia Management are excited to again be a part of this globally important event. Bringing together the global eye care industry is incredibly important in tackling this worldwide healthcare epidemic. We implore all to get involved, spread the word about myopia, and start making healthier vision choices before it’s too late,” said Kristen Dalli, Executive Editor at Review of Myopia Management. “The changes we make today mean we can prevent the onset or slow the progression of myopia and see longer tomorrow.”
Eye care professionals, educators, parents, and advocates are invited to participate in Myopia Awareness Week 2025 by sharing key messages and engaging in the conversation. A free social media toolkit – including posters, graphics, educational materials, and interactive challenges – is available to help spread awareness.
Coinciding with Myopia Awareness Week is the release of BHVI’s new and improved Myopia Calculator, the most used myopia diagnostic tool to demonstrate the effects of a combination of treatments and therapies on slowing the progression of myopia.
Supporters who join the movement will also be acknowledged across BHVI’s campaign platforms. To sign up and receive the Myopia Awareness Week Toolkit, visit bhvi.org/maw25
About BHVI
BHVI is an Australian not-for-profit organisation with an international focus on vision research. To meet identified demands in the ophthalmic field, BHVI invents commercially relevant technologies. BHVI:
- invents innovative designs for contact lenses, spectacle lenses and intraocular lenses that address refractive errors. In the myopia space, BHVI’s designs are at the forefront of worldwide ophthalmic industry efforts to slow the progression of near-sightedness in children, a condition that is sharply rising in prevalence world-wide;
- prototypes these innovative designs;
- validates the wearability and efficacy of those designs through independent clinical trials;
- protects those designs by obtaining patents in markets worldwide; and
- licenses those designs to the market leaders in the ophthalmic industry.
For more information, visit bhvi.org
About Review of Myopia Management
Review of Myopia Management is a leading online publication designed to help eye care professionals maximize the emerging field of myopia management. Jobson Optical Group launched Review of Myopia Management (RMM) in March 2019 as the first multi-platform digital asset dedicated to myopia management. Since its inception, RMM has remained committed to producing and sharing the most up-to-date information and educational tools for eye care professionals. The online publication has grown to be the leading source of clinical, practice management, and research information on myopia management – reviewofmm.com
[1] Mehta N, Wen A. Myopia: A Global Epidemic. Retina Today. September 2019.
[2] Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA, et al. Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology 2016;123(5):1036–42.
[3] Flaxman SR, Bourne RRA, Resnikoff S, et al. Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990–2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health 2017;5(12):e1221–e34.
