Through its engagement with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), ZEISS has joined forces with other partners and shared a commitment to advancing access to eye care. This commitment took center stage at the first-ever Global Summit for Eye Health, organized by IAPB together with the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 2, 2026, in Antigua and Barbuda. As a High Impact Partner, ZEISS not only made a commitment, but also contributed practical and scalable approaches across schools, communities, vision centers and surgical settings, helping translate commitment into action and expand access to eye care worldwide.
“Vision is fundamental to our quality of life. Yet millions lack access to even the most basic eye care. At ZEISS, we don’t ever take vision for granted. We’re committed to improving global eye health,” says Jesper Wiegandt, CEO ZEISS Vision Care and Member of the Management Board ZEISS Consumer Markets.
“As one of the world’s leading ophthalmic technology companies, ZEISS is uniquely positioned to anchor our commitment focused on what remains the leading cause of blindness worldwide: cataracts. To address this will require close collaboration with ophthalmologists, healthcare providers, and partners like IAPB who share our commitment to better patient outcomes,” says Steve Schallhorn, MD, Chief Medical Officer, ZEISS Medical Technology.
The commitment is reflected by ZEISS’ long-term perspective and builds on its longstanding engagement in expanding access to eye care. Entirely owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation, ZEISS reinvests 14–16% of its annual revenue in research and development, supporting long-term innovation and scientific and medical advancement.
Building on the Aloka Vision model
A key element of the ZEISS commitment is the expansion of the Aloka Vision model. Operating in India since 2015, the Aloka Vision Foundation provides eye care services to underserved communities. ZEISS, together with qualified optometrists from Aloka, carries out vision screenings and refractions, manages the production and distribution of custom-made eyewear, and provides support with ophthalmological treatment costs. The foundation has already served more than 1.5 million patients.
Initially established with the support of ZEISS, Aloka today operates as an independent entity and through a partnership network of NGOs, hospitals and other institutions across India and the wider South Asian region. Since March 2025, Aloka has been registered as a non-profit organization, the Aloka Vision Foundation, supporting its long-term and sustainable development. The Aloka team is also involved in regional activities aimed at strengthening long-term access to optical services in underserved areas of India.
Building on this experience, ZEISS plans to develop a blueprint for implementation in at least two additional countries until 2028, in collaboration with governments and third parties. The expanded approach will also support people following cataract surgery through follow-up screening and refractive error correction.
Combining access, awareness and local capacity
Alongside the expansion of the Aloka Vision model, ZEISS will work with country partners to raise awareness of visual health and expand school, community and training programmes. The company will also support outreach activities with certified screening and dispensing equipment, glasses and intraocular lenses.
Together, these activities aim to reach an additional 1 million people per year with screening and eyewear. Country-specific enabling programmes will seek to create awareness, demand and access to services for an additional 1 million people annually.
Building on long-standing engagement in eye health
The commitment builds on ZEISS’s existing work to strengthen access to eye care and professional training. Since 2005, ZEISS has supported eye care centres in lower-resource settings, including the IAPB Latin American Centre of Excellence, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College in Tanzania, University College Hospital in Ibadan and Cicendo Eye Hospital in Indonesia. Since 2018, this has included support for dedicated phacoemulsification training centres, combining equipment with locally led training.
ZEISS also supports humanitarian eye care through multi-year equipment donations, including to the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital and hospitals in Mozambique, the Philippines and Cambodia, alongside longstanding partnerships with IAPB and CBM.
