World Sight Day: Sight Loss Costs Global Economy Ksh61 Trillion

Avoidable sight loss costs Kenya Ksh22.3 billion per year.

Sight loss costs the global economy US$411 billion (Ksh61 trillion) every year, according to the Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health.

An estimated 30% of people with sight loss experience a reduction in 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 Ksh7638.8, the highest ROI for the treatment of myopia at Ksh2,247.5 and presbyopia at Ksh1924.4.

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.

“Business leaders have played a vital role in raising awareness of workplace wellbeing, from mental health to menopause. Today, World Sight Day is an opportunity for employers to add eye health to their well-being agenda and encourage workers to love their eyes,” Peter Holland, CEO of IAPB and Love Your Eyes campaign spokesperson says

“Our eyes are central to our ability to earn a living. Eye conditions like presbyopia, cataracts and muscular degeneration have a profound impact on 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.

Better eye health would add more to Kenya’s economy than the coffee market, according to new research released this World Sight Day. Avoidable sight loss costs the country Ksh22.3 billion per year – almost double the estimated revenue of the Kenyan coffee market.

The Love Your Eyes campaign is releasing the figures to highlight 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.

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. Without proper precautions, this can lead to eye strain and negatively impact eye health.

“Our goal for this World Sight Day is to ensure that eye health is placed at the top of the agenda for the majority of workplaces. There are about 750,000 Kenyans with severe vision impairment and they should not be overlooked. With the right intervention, these numbers can drastically scale back and put Kenya on the right trajectory,” the President of the Optometrists Association of Keyna (OAK), Optom Opiyo Victor says.

“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.”

Read: Battle For Eyeballs: Citizen, KTN, NTV And TV47 Named Best-ranking Local TV Stations

>>> Health Effects Of Smoking Oris Cigarettes

Latest

Odibets Gives Out 100 Goats Daily in Betting Promotion

Each goat from Odibets will be worth Ksh5,000 and will be rewarded to the lucky customers via M-Pesa.

Angry Standard Group Employees Wrestle With Auctioneers

In what looked like a movie, Standard Group employees moved to stop the auctioneers from carrying away the seats.

Inside Details of How Equity Sealed Deal to Acquire Rwandan Bank

Equity Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr James Mwangi, said the transaction Equity-Cogebanque deal was sealed on 30th November 2023.

Follow Us

Newsletter

Don't miss

Lupita’s Little Brother Junior Nyong’o Charting His Own Path in Acting

Junior Nyongó, who is also a musician and a DJ and now a graduate of UC San Diego with an MFA in Acting, is crafting his own solid path in the world of acting with roles in major theatre productions.

Safaricom To Power Tusker OktobaFest Beer Festival

Safaricom’s involvement in OktobaFest as a technology and payments partner will focus on fostering seamless in-festival connectivity, empowering the youth and Gen Z community through Safaricom Hook, and powering digital payments through M-PESA.

Music Producers Launch Organization To Streamline Recording Industry

Recording Industry of Kenya (RIKE) was launched on 9th October 2023. Registered in 2022 as a not-for-profit organization, RIKE aims to promote the collective interests of producers of sound recordings in the country.

Nairobi’s Hero Bar Listed Among World’s 50 Best Bars

World Best Bars: Hero Bar in Nairobi continues to climb the list, moving up six places to No.62 and Johannesburg’s Sin + Tax comes in at No.94. Dubai new entry Ergo is at No.69 and Melbourne’s Byrdi has re-entered the list at No.61.

Kenyan DJs Face Off In Smirnoff Battle Of The Beats Season 3

The Smirnoff Battle of the Beats Season 3, a DJ competition, is poised to unleash an unprecedented musical frenzy countrywide.

The Highs And Lows Of Betty Kyallo, Sisters Show As Season 2 Ends

Kyallo Kulture has always been, above all, about sisterhood, and in Season 2 we have witnessed the charm of it - the ups that gave us wholesome moments as the sisters led by Betty Kyallo spent time together.

DStv Beats CNN, BBC To Become Most Admired Media Outlet In Africa

DStv, MultiChoice Group’s leading broadcast service, has been named...

MultiChoice Revises Subscription Fees For DStv, GOtv

MultiChoice has announced price adjustments on some of their...

Octopizzo: How I Make My Money

"I've been doing this for 12, 13 years. It reaches a point where you no longer need to prove that you can make a hit record," he stated.

New Spotify EQUAL Artist Qing Madi Talks Music and Dreams

Heavily influenced by her cultural background and the lyrical arrangements of Kendrick Lamar, the versatile Nigerian prodigy is shaping the future of music with her unique genre-bending fusion of Afrobeats, Pop, Soul and R&B.
BT Reporter
BT Reporterhttp://www.businesstoday.co.ke
editor [at] businesstoday.co.ke

Odibets Gives Out 100 Goats Daily in Betting Promotion

Each goat from Odibets will be worth Ksh5,000 and will be rewarded to the lucky customers via M-Pesa.

Angry Standard Group Employees Wrestle With Auctioneers

In what looked like a movie, Standard Group employees moved to stop the auctioneers from carrying away the seats.

Inside Details of How Equity Sealed Deal to Acquire Rwandan Bank

Equity Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr James Mwangi, said the transaction Equity-Cogebanque deal was sealed on 30th November 2023.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here