August 1, 2024
The Chair of the 2024 board of directors of GMAC (the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition) is Olga Prenat, Global Head of Medical & Professional Affairs for EssilorLuxottica.
Following the announcement of her appointment, Review of Myopia Management Editor-in-Chief John Sailer interviewed her to find out her plans for how the organization will continue working toward its mission of raising awareness and promoting a greater understanding of childhood myopia as a treatable disease. Check out the interview for Olga Prenat’s take on GMAC in 2024.
John Sailer, RMM Editor-in-Chief: Hello and welcome to Review of Myopia Management‘s Up Close With interview series. I’m John Sailer, Editor-in-Chief of Review of Myopia Management, and we are here today with Olga Prenat, who’s based in France, and who is the Global Head of Medical & Professional Affairs for EssilorLuxottica and this year’s Chair of the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition. Olga is going to discuss her role as the current leader of GMAC. Welcome Olga. Thank you for being here.
Olga Prenat, Chair, Global Myopia Awareness Coalition, and Global Head of Medical & Professional Affairs, EssilorLuxottica: Hello John and many thanks for having me today.
RMM: So, let me ask my first question. How has it been settling into your role as the new GMAC Chair this year?
GMAC: First of all, I’m very proud and honored to serve as GMAC Board Chair on behalf of EssilorLuxottica. I took this role in March. Over last years, we could observe that awareness of myopia has been increasing amongst the general public, parents, and eye care professionals, but it still has different levels of maturity across geographies and countries. As a global coalition, we need to continue our collective efforts at a global scale to create bigger impact, especially in increasing parental awareness as we play an essential role in influencing children’s attitudes and lifestyles.
RMM: Okay, so is there anything new this year so far from GMAC that you’d like to share?
GMAC: Well, GMAC was founded with a mission to promote public awareness of childhood myopia through direct-to-consumer channels and awareness with governments, NGOs, and other health associations. GMAC does not advocate for any specific clinical approaches or treatment options. Instead, the objective is to stimulate public interest and parental conversations with eye care professionals. Since its foundation, GMAC’s focus started with the U.S. initially and then expanded to the U.K., Canada, and now we are looking forward to continuing to expand worldwide by connecting with professional associations in place globally. This is our priority for 2024. We are also developing new communication tools, which will be disseminated globally through professional organizations. And a couple of those professional organizations are joining GMAC. We will update you very soon.
RMM: Okay. Very exciting. Looking forward to hearing more later. So, is there anything else you’d like to add that you’d like the readers of Review of Myopia Management to know about GMAC?
GMAC: Yes, I do. To become a GMAC member, I invite you to visit our website, www.MyopiaAwareness.org
RMM: Okay, thank you, Olga Prenat, Global Head of Medical Affairs for EssilorLuxottica and this year’s Chair of the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition. And thank you for listening to Review of Myopia Management‘s Up Close With interview series.
