The Duchess of Edinburgh will travel to Antigua and Barbuda in early November to attend the Global Eye Health Summit and continue raising awareness of avoidable blindness worldwide. The visit will centre around the summit, which will take place on November 2 in the capital city of Saint John's.
Royal announcement on World Sight Day
In a post shared on the Royal Family's social media accounts, the Duchess's excitement for the upcoming trip was clear. It read: "The Duchess of Edinburgh, as Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), looks forward to joining eye health leaders at the upcoming Global Eye Health Summit in Antigua and Barbuda in early November, helping to amplify the work being done around the world to prevent avoidable sight loss."
The news of the upcoming visit was shared to coincide with World Sight Day, which falls today, Thursday, October 8. A follow-up post on the Royal Family's X account read: "On World Sight Day, we celebrate the extraordinary progress made against trachoma, the world's leading infectious cause of blindness. The number of people estimated to be at risk has fallen by 94%, demonstrating what can be achieved when communities, health workers, governments and partners work together."
Duchess to judge photo competition
It was also confirmed that during the visit, the Duchess will serve as a judge to decide the winner of the Amateur Photo of the Year in the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness World Sight Day Photo Competition.
The Duchess has often incorporated her interests in avoidable blindness into her trips abroad. During a visit to Tanzania in 2024, she lauded the country's efforts to eliminate trachoma, which can cause blindness, before challenging the entire Commonwealth to achieve the same goal by 2030.
Personal connection to eye health
Sophie, who is a global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), also issued a rare personal statement in 2021 after Gambia achieved the same feat. Appearing in a video, the Duchess said: "In our lifetime, to see something that has been so prevalent and has destroyed so many lives actually being beaten is wonderful." She added: "Without the commitment from the top down and the bottom up, none of this would have come about. We stand in awe of what has been achieved."
Eye conditions and eye health are a key focus for the Duchess, especially after her daughter, Lady Louise, was born with esotropia and required various surgeries to correct her vision.
