Providing Free Eye Exams And Glasses To Those Who Need Them Would Save $202 Billion Annually
Providing Eye Exams And Glasses Could Save Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars Globally U.S. Navy via WikimediaAn up-front investment in eyes could generate a trillion dollars over five years, a new study says. Vision problems are also serious economic problems, at least according to a soon-to-be-released study claiming that providing eye exams and corrective lenses to the 703 million people globally who needed glasses (but didn't get them) in 2010 would save the global economy $202 billion annually. The cost to fix this problem: a mere one-time investment of $28 billion. The economic costs of vision impairment are many, and in the developing world they are rampant. Refractive errors in vision make it difficult to read (and thus become educated), to drive or operate machinery, and to be productive in the workplace and in society in general. Limited mobility caused by visual impairments can also lead to other physical and mental...