Presbyopia, the age-related loss of near vision, typically begins around age 40. That is the stage of life when many people are still working and providing for their households. For a farmer sorting crops, a tailor at work, or a tea picker in the field, losing the ability to see up close can mean earning less, or leaving the job altogether.
An estimated 826 million people lack access to the simple reading glasses that would restore it. In a recent opinion piece for Devex, authors Abigail Steinberg and Rollo Romig argue the development sector has looked past this problem for too long.
So why has this gone unaddressed? In most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), glasses aren’t sold where people shop, few people know ready-made reading glasses are an option, and screening has been limited to specialist settings that most people never reach.
The Devex piece argues the answer is to move screening and distribution out of specialist clinics and into the hands of community health workers and other non-specialist health staff. They cite programs from several organizations, including Evidence Action, as evidence that the barriers can be overcome.
