Safeguarding
Sight

Myopia is more than an epidemic. It’s a global crisis that many parents are not even aware of. Enter the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition—a diverse group of eye care companies, eye health associations, and providers locking arms to protect today’s youth from the short-term challenges and long-term effects of myopia.

“I am proud to serve as GMAC Board Chair on behalf of EssilorLuxottica and looking forward to continuing building new awareness programs in 2024. Awareness of myopia has been increasing amongst the general public and eye care professionals, but it still has different levels of maturity across geographies. As a coalition, we need to continue our collective efforts to create impact, especially in increasing parental awareness as they play an essential role in influencing children’s attitudes and lifestyles.”

Olga Prenat

Head of Medical and Professional Affairs
EssilorLuxottica

The GMAC Story

In late 2018, a number of companies and associations came together to partner globally to increase public awareness of childhood myopia, the risk of eye disease associated with myopia, and encourage consumers to ask their eye care professionals about treatment options for childhood myopia.

GMAC stands shoulder to shoulder with industry leaders and eye doctors to stop the myopia epidemic.

The GMAC Mission

The Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC) is a coalition of leading ophthalmic companies and eye health associations with a mission to increase public awareness about the growing prevalence and consequences of myopia, especially in children.
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GMAC develops messaging campaigns for the public and works with health care professionals and allied organizations to educate both parents and children to access early and regular eye exams and be more receptive to treatment recommendations from their eye care professionals.

Who Is GMAC?

Never before have so many leading eyecare organizations joined forces against the devastating consequences of myopia.

Meet the Individuals Committed to Myopia Awareness

The Global Myopia Awareness Coalition is led by a Board of Directors that guides our strategic direction and by member companies that help accomplish our shared mission.

Lori Archer

CEO, UnitedHealthcare Vision

Sandra Block

President, World Council Of Optometry

François Couillard

CEO, Canadian Association of Optometrists

Matt Geller

Co-founder & CEO, Eyes On Eyecare

Nitin Jain

President (Americas), Euclid Vision Group

Enzu Jeon

Senior Director, Global Strategic Marketing, Pediatric Eye Health Stronghold, Johnson & Johnson Vision

Jennifer Lambert

Senior Director, Global Myopia Management, CooperVision

Bill Scott

President, Jobson

Significant Milestones

Since GMAC was formed in 2019, it has launched five successful consumer campaigns in the U.S. dedicated to raising awareness of myopia in children and motivating parents to ask about new treatment options.

January 2019

Forming Partnerships

We formed partnerships with allied health care professionals and other stakeholders in children’s eye health and vision—including pediatricians,
ophthalmologists, optometrists, and school nurses.

September 2021

Observing Trends

Two years later, we set out to assess the changes in awareness and existing perceptions around myopia and comprehensive eye exams since GMAC was formed. We conducted a survey of social listening and analysis of Google trends among 1.5K parents and found an increased awareness of myopia.

September 2019

Testing Messaging

We tested potential messaging with over 4K parents in the U.S. through a rigorous qualitative and quantitative research approach.

October 2021

Going Global

We put the “global” into our acronym and extended our reach across the pond in the UK in 2022 to understand baseline awareness of myopia, short-sightedness, and new treatment options. We leveraged those findings to inform the UK consumer campaign. We will continue to explore additional markets in 2022 and beyond.

GMAC Advisory Board

Dr. Chukwuemeka Junior Obinwanne

OD, MOptom, Dipl. (AAO), FAAO, FSLS – Head of Cornea, Contact Lens & Myopia Control, De-Lens Ophthalmics (Nigeria)

Prof. Ian Flitcroft

MA, MBBS, DPhil – Paediatric Ophthalmologist, Co-Founder of Ocumetra
(Ireland)

Dr. Kanwal 'Ken' Nischal

MD, FAAP, FRCOphth – Division Chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology, UPMC Children's Hospital (USA)

Dr. Kate Gifford

PhD, BAppSc (Optom) Hons, GCOT, FBCLA, FIACLE, FCCLSA, FAAO – Optometrist, Clinician-Scientist, Co-Founder of Myopia Profile (Australia)

Dr. Maria Liu

OD, PhD, MPH, MBA, FAAO – Associate Professor of Clinical Optometry, Founder & Chief, Myopia Control Clinic, UC Berkeley (USA)

Dr. Pavan Verkicharla

PhD, BS Opt – Scientist, Head & Consultant Optometrist, INFOR Myopia
Centre, L V Prasad Eye Institute (India)

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