According to an article published by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, children with uncorrected vision problems may learn half as much as their peers
To mark World Sight Day 2024, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, in collaboration with the Seva Foundation, presented a study showing that visually impaired children learn approximately half as much as their classmates with good vision.
Such a learning gap directly translates into lost earnings that last a lifetime.
Every year, nearly 17.8 million children worldwide go to school with uncorrected refractive errors, such as near or farsightedness or astigmatism, being unable to see blackboards and books well and learning far less than their peers.
On a global scale, if we sum all the unfruitful school years due to learning problems, the predicted overall economic productivity loss amounts to $173 billion across high, middle, and low-income countries.
Brad Wong, Chief Economist of the Seva Foundation, said: “With this very first global estimate of actual learning losses associated with poor vision, we see just how important it is to get glasses when you need them. Most often, we are talking about simple refractive errors, which are easy to correct – but which, if uncorrected, have a detrimental effect on both the individual child and society as a whole.”
Vision problems that are not corrected on time are due to missed screenings, which are very important for children. It is common for people to skip eye checkups during preschool and school years or not to have proper access to tests.
At a political level, interventions to improve access to eye tests and eyeglasses are very cost-effective, with a return on investment being as large as $65 per $1 of investment.
Peter Holland, IAPB Chief Executive Officer, said: “Early intervention, regular eye checks and access to good quality eye care and glasses are critical to unlocking education opportunities and children’s future economic potential. Eye health in young people is not an optional extra – it is vital to their and our future.”