The Cornea and Contact Lens Society (CCLS) of New Zealand and the New Zealand Myopia Action Group (NZMAG) are joining forces to further myopia prevention awareness and management.
CCLS president Eleisha Dudson said the two organisations are in early discussions about what the collaboration will look like. “The intention is that CCLS will give structure to NZMAG, which is currently just a collaboration of highly motivated individuals.”
Given CCLS is well established and respected across the country, NZMAG hopes the collaboration will facilitate the promotion of myopia awareness and management within non-eyecare groups and garner the support of industry organisations, such as the New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO), the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) and the corporate optometry groups, said Dudson. “Our deliberations over the next few months should give us a good steer as to what we can achieve in the short and longer term, in hopes of achieving the overarching goals of NZMAG, including work around atropine funding, research and awareness of myopia management in the public and optometric arenas.”
NZMAG co-founder Alex Petty, who approached CCLS about joining forces, said CCLS is perfectly placed to take over the role of being the professional group in charge of advocating for myopia management in this country, thanks to its well respected and trusted position in the eye health community. “The public and eyecare professionals need a strong, independent group with the resources and systems available to take up the cudgels in the myopia battle, so New Zealand children do not follow the same concerning myopia trends we are seeing overseas.”
