In 2018, India held the unenviable position as the country with the largest population of people with uncorrected poor vision, despite decades of work to solve this problem. According to a 2019 report published by EssilorLuxottica in consultation with global health experts (bit.ly/3Mp2iFG), an estimated 550 million Indians require intervention to ensure they see clearly and achieve their best corrected vision. In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated (bit.ly/3MsQPoO) 270 million of those have moderate to severe levels of vision loss (9.2 million were blind).
Yet, India is not alone in this situation. According to the report by EssilorLuxottica, 2.7 billion people worldwide, or 1 in every 3 people on the planet, still have uncorrected vision that can be corrected through a simple pair of eyeglasses.
This is a number that all of us must be committed to reduce. Poor vision is, after all, a problem with a solution. According to research (bit.ly/3rKRjNs) from The Lancet Global Commission on Global Eye Health, “Encouragingly, more than 90% of people with vision impairment have a preventable or treatable cause with existing highly cost-effective interventions."
This is good news for India. We have already witnessed our government turn interventions into results through the elimination of other pressing public health issues, including polio, tetanus and tuberculosis.
In 1994, the country rolled out its Pulse Polio Programme (bit.ly/3EDHFUm) during a time when India accounted for 60% of the world’s polio cases. Two decades later, India received ‘Polio-free’ certification from the WHO. Similarly in 2015, tetanus was no longer listed as a public health threat in India. And in 2017, the government rolled out the National Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis Elimination that would treat 9 million patients of the illness at a cost of $320 million per year, working toward elimination by 2025. The plan was updated in 2020 to refocus efforts, and continues to emphasize the early diagnosis of all tuberculosis patients, while recommending a multi-stakeholder approach that involves investing in the community, private providers, staff systems and diagnostic tools.
Given the major public health successes already achieved, coupled with India’s commitment to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly’s first-ever resolution on vision (bit.ly/3RUqUHq) aimed at ensuring global access to eye health, we believe good vision can and must now be prioritized.
By implementing a similar coordinated approach, India can add the elimination of uncorrected poor vision to this notable list of achievements by simply following this two-pronged approach.
Through strategic partnerships and programmes focused on creating access to vision care, complemented by philanthropic efforts, millions of Indians could access a pair of spectacles (perhaps for the first time) that would forever change the quality of their lives. Assuming a 10-year programme cost estimate of $300 million, the elimination of poor vision can prove equally cost-effective as other public health challenges already addressed at greater cost. By committing itself to tackle poor vision, India would be able to reap benefits that far outweigh its investment—access to vision care and health services through improved infrastructure, raising incomes by creating skilled micro-entrepreneurs, and adding an estimated $37 billion to national productivity.
Many impactful programmes could be built upon to solve the issue of poor vision in India. Partnerships like the one between Skill India and the National Skill Development Corporation, which allocated $615 million to training 3.5 million youth and creating 700 skilling centres, can be leveraged, for example. Additionally, a government programme allocating $85 million for non-communicable diseases—including eye health services—provides for more than 1.6 million pairs of spectacles to be distributed annually under various private schemes. Working together with the private sector and philanthropic foundations, we could effectively reduce the overall projected cost to solve this silent public health crisis.
Undoubtedly, India has begun the work needed to tackle poor vision and elevated the level of priority accorded to it with its commitment to the UN Resolution on Vision for Everyone and the WHO target of increasing access by 40% by 2030.
On this World Sight Day, 13 October, and beyond, our actions must outweigh mere good intentions. Today’s India has the proven knowledge and resources, roadmap and tools, power and people to effectuate change.
Will India be the first country where everyone can see clearly? The moment to make that choice is now.
Swati Piramal & Anurag Hans are, respectively, vice-chairperson of Piramal Group, and head, OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation.
