Avoidable Distance Vision Impairment Costs $269 Billion in Lost Productivity
SYDNEY, June 2/Medianet International-AsiaNet/ --
A study published in the latest edition of Bulletin of the World Health
Organization (June 2009) estimates the global economy loses $269 billion1 in
productivity annually due to vision impairment.
The authors from Johns Hopkins University, the International Centre for
Eyecare Education (ICEE), University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the African
Vision Research Institute (AVRI) University of KwaZulu-Natal, say the problem
could be eliminated simply, and very cost-effectively, by an eye examination
and a pair of spectacles.
Of the 158.1 million worldwide with vision impairment resulting from
uncorrected refractive error, 8.7 million are avoidably blind.
It is estimated the cost of correcting the vision of 158 million people with
distance vision impairment would be far less than the lost productivity
(including training the eye care personnel and creating the infrastructure for
delivery and affordable spectacle supply).
Based on US costs, spectacles would be $26 billion over three years - around
one tenth of the annual lost productivity. However, initiatives like the ICEE
affordable spectacle programme, which provides eye care in developing
communities, would require only $4 billion for the eye examinations and
spectacles needed (including the costs of training the necessary eye care
personnel).
The research creates a range of possible productivity gains using different
assumptions. The productivity gain is greatest - $428 billion - when it is
assumed that people in unpaid roles (e.g. home duties, subsistence farming)
also make a measurable contribution to the world economy.
CEO of ICEE, Professor Brien Holden said, “158 million people are vision
impaired because of uncorrected refractive error (URE) – which is correctable.
The Western Pacific region, which includes China and Vietnam, has the highest
estimated number of cases of URE at 62 million and is responsible for almost
half the potential loss of productivity. The South East Asia region,
encompassing Bangladesh, India and Nepal, has 48.7 million cases. Apart from
the moral obligation, this research indicates that there is a tremendous loss
of human potential with avoidable blindness and impaired vision due to URE. ”
“Failing to act to eliminate avoidable blindness not only severely impacts
on the lives of individuals, families and communities, but also creates this
current significant economic burden on the global economy,” he added.
“We have understood for some time that vision impairment has a direct link
to poverty. This study led by Smith and Frick’s rigorous financial modelling,
and based on ICEE researchers’ field knowledge, adds further weight to the need
to act urgently. I call on the developed world to commit to providing the
financial support to allow this solution to proceed,” Professor Holden said.
Head of the AVRI and Programmes Director for ICEE, Professor Kovin Naidoo,
said, “The great tragedy for people blind or vision impaired due to URE is that
we have the solution and the resources to correct their vision. This study
covered only URE for distance vision and does not account for costs associated
with people affected by URE at near. Our recent work indicates that in addition
to these estimates there is further productivity loss associated with the 517
million people affected by uncorrected presbyopia, 94% of who live in the
developing world”.
EDITORS NOTES:
The study paper is online:
Authors: TST Smith, KD Frick, BA Holden, TR Fricke & KS Naidoo. TST Smith
was supported by an award from the US-UK Fulbright Commission; BA Holden and TR
Fricke were both supported by a Blindness Prevention Grant from the Institute
for Eye Research, Australia.
URE is the biggest cause of avoidable blindness and vision impairment in the
world and is the simplest of all eye conditions to diagnose and correct. Today,
90% of blindness and vision impairment is in the developing world.
1 The international dollar (I) is a hypothetical unit of currency with the
same purchasing power that the U.S. dollar has in the United States at a given
point in time. It shows how much a local currency unit is worth within the
country's borders. Conversions to international dollars are calculated using
purchasing power parities (PPP). If all the dollars were to be spent in the
USA, then I$1 = 1USD.
For interviews and information contact:
Stephanie O’Connell,
ICEE: s.oconnell@icee.org
Cell: +61 439 600 312
SOURCE: International Centre for Eyecare Education
Attachments:
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