{"id":61659,"date":"2018-01-17T04:16:01","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T09:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/why-we-should-tackle-the-global-challenge-of-uncorrected-poor-vision\/"},"modified":"2018-01-17T04:16:01","modified_gmt":"2018-01-17T09:16:01","slug":"why-we-should-tackle-the-global-challenge-of-uncorrected-poor-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/why-we-should-tackle-the-global-challenge-of-uncorrected-poor-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Should Tackle The Global Challenge Of Uncorrected Poor Vision"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why We Should Tackle The Global Challenge Of Uncorrected Poor Vision<\/b>
\nI was in my forties when I discovered that I have an interiorised stammer \u2013 a relatively common problem, affecting over 750,000 people in the UK \u2013 and, thanks to a diagnosis and treatment from a speech therapist, I have been able to understand the condition and carry on with my career, knowing it is just part of who I am.<\/p>\n

It just never occurred to me that it should hold me back. So, I am eager to find out the reasons why an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide, according to the Clearly campaign, continue to suffer from a condition which hinders children\u2019s education, undermines economic productivity and entrenches gender inequality, and yet is perfectly treatable: poor vision.<\/p>\n

Affecting almost a third of the world\u2019s population, uncorrected poor vision \u2013 by which I mean natural short-sightedness (myopia) or the gradual loss of vision that comes to everyone of a certain age (presbyopia) \u2013 proves to be a huge obstacle to global economic development.<\/p>\n

Uncorrected poor vision creates a litany of small setbacks for people whose lives would be drastically improved with a straightforward solution: a simple pair of glasses.<\/p>\n

It increases the toll of healthcare provision and the indirect costs of road and domestic accidents and informal family care, and it leads to lost income and workplace productivity.<\/p>\n

And the total global cost is huge. Access Economics has estimated that the global cost of poor vision is as much as $3 trillion a year.<\/p>\n

Poor vision itself is not the subject of any UN\u2019s Security Council Resolutions or any of the Sustainable Development Goals. While there are laudable efforts to fund medical interventions for the 165 million people worldwide who could suffer sight loss without attention, there is no multilateral commitment in place to tackle poor vision.<\/p>\n

Yet, if we were to tackle poor vision like we tackled diseases like polio, we would face enjoy significant economics returns, lift people out of poverty and improve the quality of life for literally billions of people.<\/p>\n

Many of our multilateral health and development targets would be impossible to achieve without tackling poor vision. For example, global goals to deliver quality education, decent work and gender equality.<\/p>\n

The important point is that glasses are genuinely affordable, costing as little as \u00a31 to produce.<\/p>\n

Outlining the objectives of the Clearly campaign, its founder James Chen has highlighted four obstacles standing in our way \u2013 what he calls<\/a> \u2018the four Ds\u2019.<\/p>\n

The first is\u00a0diagnosis. In most countries, eye tests are the preserve of optometrists who generally need four years of training. Yet technology allows someone with just three days training to carry out a simple test. Of course, we should be training more optometrists but it is much cheaper to train community nurses, teachers and even entrepreneurs \u2013 as countries like Rwanda and Botswana are doing.<\/p>\n

And even when people are diagnosed, the logistical challenges of\u00a0distribution, getting glasses to where they are needed, holds back a nationwide solution. Most of the billions of people with poor vision live<\/a> in rural parts of the developing world, but they are not totally inaccessible. If you can buy a bottle of coke or packet of biscuits in rural villages around the world, why can\u2019t we distribute glasses too?<\/p>\n

The lengthy supply chain and the payment of import taxes and duties add many\u00a0dollars\u00a0in value to the average pair of glasses \u2013 particularly prescription glasses \u2013 by the time they are sold, putting them out of reach to families on low incomes.<\/p>\n

Organisations like Vision for a Nation and Vision Spring have sought to tackle this challenge by subsidising the cost of a pair of glasses in counties like Rwanda and Bangladesh in the hope of creating a market for glasses that cost as little as \u00a31.<\/p>\n

Yet the final \u2018D\u2019 \u2013\u00a0demand\u00a0\u2013 still poses problems. Those who wear glasses have always encountered social stigma, which can stop even those with the right prescription from experiencing the improvements that glasses will bring. When the market reaches a critical mass, this problem can be overcome.<\/p>\n

Since the invention of glasses 700 years ago \u2013 and their proliferation after the invention of the printing press \u2013 clear vision has transformed countless lives. Yet a third of the global population are still living a blurry life.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to help the whole world see.
\n
\nwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/entry\/why-we-should-tackle-the-global-challenge-of-uncorrected-poor-vision_uk_5a5e3091e4b03c41896966fe<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why We Should Tackle The Global Challenge Of Uncorrected Poor Vision I was in my forties when I discovered that I have an interiorised stammer \u2013 a relatively common problem, affecting over 750,000 people in the UK \u2013 and, thanks to a diagnosis and treatment from a speech therapist, I have been able to understand … Continue reading Why We Should Tackle The Global Challenge Of Uncorrected Poor Vision<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy We Should Tackle The Global Challenge Of Uncorrected Poor Vision - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/why-we-should-tackle-the-global-challenge-of-uncorrected-poor-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why We Should Tackle The Global Challenge Of Uncorrected Poor Vision - 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