Over 2.5 billion people around the world need glasses but don’t have access to them. In the era of the Sustainable Development Goals, it is critical that eye health is elevated as an urgent matter within public health.

Q: Why has the world largely ignored poor vision in the wider global health conversation?

Jayanth Bhuvaraghan: There is a genuine lack of awareness for the impact of poor vision. It is not a major focus for governments. Some people are born with poor vision and others lose it slow & painlessly. People take good vision for granted so it’s not something the world talks about.

Q: Why is it important to include vision as an urgent public health issue?

Irman Khan: New data predicts that global blindness could triple by 2050 without further investment. We need to meet increase in cataracts and refractive error with growing global population and because people are living longer.

Q: What is the impact of poor vision on the world?

Jordan Kassalow: Poor vision drains the global economy by at least $227 billion per year.

Read the full article on vision by Carine Umuhumuza at Devex International Development