WSD 2024 counting the cost of uncorrected vision on educational attainment

A new report has estimated the global learning and economic productivity losses from uncorrected refractive error, in what researchers have described as a “learning crisis.”

The research, from the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and the Seva Foundation, has been released today (10 October) to mark World Sight Day 2024, which focuses on children’s eye health.

The report, Better Education in Sight, explores the effect of uncorrected vision on educational attainment, indicating that early intervention to correct a child’s sight could boost their lifetime earnings by up to 78%.

The research utilised a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials estimating the learning impact from the provision of glasses.

Daryl Chase

IAPB launched the Glasses of the Future competition this year to get children excited about eye health

Researchers have estimated that a child with uncorrected refractive error learns approximately half as much as a child with good or corrected vision.

The report authors suggested that a five-year-old provided with glasses in school, who then continues to wear them until they are 18, will earn on average 78% more over their lifetime than if they had not had their vision corrected. 

On a global scale, the researchers estimated every year that school children go without glasses accumulates to 6.3 million equivalent years of schooling lost, and a future economic productivity loss of $173 billion.

Economic loss is split approximately equally between high income and low-and-middle income countries, however, 83% of the total equivalent years of schooling loss is concentrated in the latter.

Citing the Global Burden of Disease, the report notes that 17.8 million children around the world go to school with uncorrected refractive error.

In an introduction to the research, the report authors stated: “With all forms of visual impairment expected to increase in prevalence over the coming decades, the loss will likely increase in the future if no further action is taken to address uncorrected refractive error in schools.”

Pointing to the new research, Brad Wong, chief economist at the Seva Foundation, suggested the report highlights “how important it is to get glasses when you need them.”

Eye health in young people is not an optional extra – it is vital to their and our future

“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,” he said.

The researchers proposed that approximately half of learning loss could be avoided through vision screening and the provision of glasses, and suggested that the remainder could perhaps be addressed by interventions to improve wearing compliance.

The IAPB has pointed to eye health interventions as a key way to address what it has termed a “global learning crisis.”

The report indicates that interventions to access vision screenings and glasses are cost-effective, with a return on investment up to $65 per $1 invested (approximately £50 per 76p).

Peter Holland, chief executive officer of the IAPB, the organisation that coordinates World Sight Day, 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.”

He added: “Eye health in young people is not an optional extra – it is vital to their and our future.”