New research released this World Sight Day shows avoidable sight loss costs Kenya KShs22.3 billion annually in lost productivity.
- 30% of people with sight loss experience a reduction in employment; 90% of sight loss is avoidable with early detection and treatment.
- IAPB’s Love Your Eyes campaign urges business leaders to put eye health on the workplace agenda.
New research released this World Sight Day shows that better eye health would add more to Kenya’s economy than the coffee market. Avoidable sight loss costs the country KShs22.3 billion per year – almost double the estimated revenue of the Kenyan coffee market.
The Love Your Eyes campaign is releasing figures highlighting how improved eye health boosts productivity, urging business leaders to put eye health on the workplace wellbeing agenda this World Sight Day.
The study, conducted by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and Prof. Kevin Frick from Johns Hopkins, calculated the costs of avoidable sight loss among people over 50.
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As technology transforms the world of work, the future economy will be dominated by service industries and office-based jobs involving the prolonged use of screens. This can lead to eye strain and negatively impact eye health without proper precautions.
Sight loss costs the global economy US$411 billion annually, according to the Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health. An estimated 30% of people with sight loss experience reduced employment, with women, people in rural communities and ethnic minority groups among the groups most affected. However, 90% of sight loss is avoidable with early detection and treatment.
Further research by the Fred Hollows Foundation found that amongst the 19 countries included in the study, Kenya has the highest estimated return on investment (ROI) for cataract surgery at KShs 7638.8, the highest ROI for the treatment of myopia at KShs 2247.5 and presbyopia at KShs 1924.4. This World Sight Day, the IAPB aims to shift the Kenyan
spotlight towards workplaces and their focus on eye health that could unlock the full potential of employees and employers alike.
Peter Holland, CEO of IAPB and Love Your Eyes campaign spokesperson, says:
“Business leaders have played a vital role in raising awareness of workplace wellbeing, from mental health to menopause. World Sight Day allows employers to add eye health to their well-being agenda and encourage workers to love their eyes.
“Our eyes are central to our ability to earn a living. Eye conditions like presbyopia, cataracts and muscular degeneration profoundly impact one’s personal and professional life. Women, people in rural communities and ethnic minority groups are even more likely to experience sight loss and be excluded from employment and services.
“Whether through eye health education, connecting employees with eye health services, adding eye health to insurance plans or adjusting screen settings, there are many ways to build a vision-friendly work environment and create healthier, happier workers.
“Nobody should experience avoidable sight loss, and no business should miss out on the boost that better eye health brings to their bottom line.”
The President of the Optometrists Association of Keyna (OAK), Optom Opiyo Victor, says:
“Our goal for this World Sight Day is to ensure that eye health is placed at the top of the agenda for most workplaces. There are about 750,000 Kenyans with severe vision impairment and they should not be overlooked. With the proper intervention, these numbers can drastically scale back and put Kenya on the right trajectory.
“Plus, given how many modern workplaces now require prolonged use of digital screens, it is clear that our eyes are now more critical than ever.
“This World Sight Day, we recognise that healthy vision plays an important part in one’s productivity level and, more importantly, their ability to earn a living. Let’s make this World Sight Day count and get every Kenyan to ‘Love Their Eyes’ at work.”
