The gift of sight is something most people in the developed world take for granted. In many countries eye-tests for children are routine, so problems are quickly addressed.
In developing nations, however, which are home to most of the world’s estimated 45 million blind people and over 1 billion people needing vision correction, the situation is somewhat different. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 95% of people who need glasses do not own a pair. This has a significant impact on a person’s ability to learn, work and support a family, which in turn has an impact on a country’s social and economic development.
Adaptive Eyewear, a UK-based not-for-profit organisation, has now become involved and has been distributing glasses based on a low-cost innovative adjustable lens technology that corrects up to 90% of refractive errors, one of the main causes of vision impairment. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), refractive error problems cost at least US$121.4 billion a year in lost productivity globally. The significant advantage of Adaptive's technology, acknowledges Sjoerd Hannema, the company's chief executive, is that glasses can be tuned to the right power within minutes by a trained community healthcare worker, without need for expensive equipment.
“Providing this instant sight is not magic, it is physics,” stresses Mr Hannema. It took more than five years to develop a working prototype, which involved several tests and close collaboration with Adlens, an affiliated company specializing in the development and commercialization of adjustable lenses.
In Rwanda, where Adaptive Eyewear has launched its "Vision for a Nation" programme, eye specialists are in short supply. The country has just eight ophthalmologists and four registered optometrists to serve the needs of its 10 million people. Meanwhile, it is estimated that three-quarters of the population needs glasses.
Rwanda was a good place to pilot the project, Mr Hannema says. First, the country is small enough to be manageable. Second, the country’s tragic history has left it with little eye care infrastructure, making it an ideal place to fulfil a mission—eye-screening has never been done in Rwanda. Third, there is commitment and willingness from government to accept outside support—the Rwandan government has committed to achieving universal eyeglass coverage by 2013. Finally, and perhaps surprisingly, given the misery of the country’s recent history, there is a relatively well-organized network of district- and regional-level healthcare.
So far, more than 1,000 people have been screened and 250 pairs of glasses distributed. The next phase, to test the eyes of 3,000 people, is now under way. Adaptive plans to test a further 300,000 people in 2011, after which it will be closer to the goal of giving vision to Rwanda.
The main barrier to Adaptive's goal is in getting enough funding. So far, the project has been supported by the Chen Yet-Sen Foundation, a Hong Kong-based charity, but US$1.5 million is necessary for the next phase, and a further US$15 million to roll the project out on a national scale and beyond. If the project is successful, the company will be in a better position to approach the World Bank for funding to roll out this programme in other countries.
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