Eyeglasses for Global Development

The report identifies a global need for eyeglasses affecting 2.5 billion people, primarily in less developed countries. It demonstrates that correcting vision in children significantly improves academic performance and that providing reading glasses to adults can boost productivity by up to 34%. The document proposes scalable models, including school-based eye health programs and market-led optical shops, while calling for multistakeholder partnerships to overcome supply and demand barriers.

• Approximately 2.5 billion people globally lack access to necessary eyeglasses, with 624 million requiring lenses strong enough to be classified as visually impaired or blind without them. About 80% of those with poor vision reside in less developed countries.
• Correcting vision in primary school students has a profound impact on learning, with some research indicating an effect equivalent to a third to a half year of additional schooling. In a review of 60 trials, the impact on learning outcomes from glasses was 10 times higher than deworming and three times higher than nutrition.
• The global economy loses an estimated $227 billion annually due to lost productivity among adults who need eyeglasses. Specifically, providing affordable reading glasses can increase productivity by up to 34%.
• Myopia is increasing globally, with projections that 4.8 billion people, or roughly half the world's population, will have the condition by 2050. Prevalence is expected to increase sevenfold in East Africa and fivefold in West Africa between 2000 and 2050.
• There is a significant funding gap for vision correction compared to other global health issues. In 2015, only $37 million was spent on the problem, representing approximately $0.02 per affected person, which is less than 1% of the spending per person for river blindness.
• Market-based solutions for the base-of-the-pyramid (BoP) are viable, as evidenced by models using cross-subsidies where higher-income consumers fund free or low-cost care for the poor. Some NGOs have found low-income consumers in India, Vietnam, and El Salvador are willing to pay up to 10% of monthly income for glasses.
• Poor vision is linked to increased road accidents; in India, drivers with correctable poor vision have an incidence of accidents up to 30 percentage points higher than those with clear vision.
• Supply-side barriers to scaling include a shortage of eye health workers, restrictive certification laws, and high import duties. For example, Bangladesh levies a 93% import duty on eyeglasses.
• New technologies, such as the Peek Acuity smartphone application and handheld autorefractors like QuickSee, can reduce costs and allow low-skilled technicians to conduct screenings and determine prescriptions more efficiently.

APA

World Economic Forum (2016). Eyeglasses for Global Development. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_2016_EYElliance.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Eyeglasses for Global Development. 2016. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_2016_EYElliance.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Eyeglasses for Global Development |date=June 2016 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_2016_EYElliance.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2016eyeglasses, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Eyeglasses for Global Development}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_2016_EYElliance.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }