Given the impact of diabetes on eye health and vision care, the growing number of Australians living with diabetes and the gap in eye health and vision care outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in comparison to the non-Indigenous population, Vision 2020 Australia is concerned with the scarcity of access to ophthalmology services in rural and remote locations and the availability of existing anti-VEGF treatments for diabetic eye disease.
To address this concern, Vision 2020 Australia has identified two key barriers to access to anti-VEGF therapy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those in rural and remote Australia, making four key recommendations to eliminate these barriers and improve access to these sight-saving therapies.