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The economic benefits of reading glasses for developing countries
A new randomized control study, THRIVE (Tradespeople and Hand-workers Rural Initiative for a Vision-enhanced Economy), is the first of its kind to measure how reading glasses affect income. THRIVE found evidence of higher earnings (a monthly median income increase from US$35.30 to US$47.10 within eight months of an individual receiving glasses) and increased quality of life, with glasses wearers finding daily tasks – preparing food, eating, and reading – much easier to accomplish. THRIVE, which assessed 824 first-time spectacle wearers working in rural occupations across 15 districts of Bangladesh, also indicated a substantial need for near glasses within this demographic, reporting widespread blurry vision in participants aged 35-65.
Notably, only 35 percent of the participants were literate, with the other 65 percent instead using their reading glasses for household tasks like weaving and sorting grain.
The study results were shared by BRAC (previously known as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), Queen’s University Belfast, and VisionSpring – the not-for-profit charity whose CEO, Ella Gudwin, featured in The New Optometrist last May – and highlight the overwhelming need for the supply of more reading glasses to developing countries.
“The findings of the THRIVE study demonstrate the power of reading glasses in helping reduce poverty,” explains Nathan Congdon, Ulverscroft Chair of Global Eye Health at Queen’s University Belfast. “For the cost of only a few dollars a pair, reading glasses have a significant and sustained impact on an individual’s earnings and help others get back into work. Where people are vulnerable to poverty, we can have an immediate and dramatic impact on livelihoods through this extremely simple and cost-effective intervention.”
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