The Global re-Vision Network
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REFRACTIVE ERROR PERPETUATES POVERTY
THE UNSEEN, UNRECOGNIZED, UNADDRESSED FACTOR
THAT KEEPS POOR PEOPLE POOR!

REFRACTIVE ERROR
A vision impairment correctible with eyeglasses that afflicts nearly 2/3rds of the world's population, over 4 BILLION people (nearsighted, farsighted, astigmatism, presbyopia)

EXCLUDING REFRACTIVE ERROR.
The World Health Organization estimates 162 million people are vision impaired by cataracts, corneal injury/disease, glaucoma, trachoma, river blindness, macular degeneration, etc..BUT...

ADDED TOGETHER.
ALL the above vision impairments afflict LESS THAN 5% of the world's vision impaired population...SO...

95% OF ALL VISION IMPAIRED PEOPLE HAVE REFRACTIVE ERROR
...THEREFORE...

EYEGLASSES CORRECT 95% OF ALL VISION IMPAIRMENTS!

OVER 2 BILLION VISION IMPAIRED PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD GLASSES
When eyesight is poor, worker productivity, economic opportunity, healthcare, and quality of life are poor...

WHEN POOR PEOPLE CAN'T GET THE EYEGLASSES THEY NEED. THEY STAY POOR!

EYEGLASSES SOLVE FAR MORE THAN JUST VISION IMPAIRMENTS!
PROVIDING "GLASSES FOR THE MASSES" IS VITAL.
STATISTICS + FACTOIDS + "EYE-OPENING" INFORMATION
  • 83% of all learning occurs through the eyes / sight / vision
  • At least 21% of Americans age 15+ (63 million people) are estimated to be functionally illiterate
  • In the entire world - the recognized "way out of poverty" is education
  • Poor people who can't see, don't learn, often can't work, have a poor quality of life...and stay poor
  • OVER 60% of the U.S. population has refractive error that eyeglasses can correct (US National Institutes of Health)
  • If the same percentage holds true worldwide, then OVER 4 billion people logically also need eyeglasses (60% of the world's population of 6.8 billion = 4,080,000,000 in mid-2008)
  • EXCLUDING refractive error, the World Health Organization estimates 162 million people are vision impaired by cataracts, corneal injury/disease, glaucoma, trachoma, river blindness, macular degeneration, etc.
  • 162 million people amounts to LESS than 5% of the world's vision impaired population of over 4 billion (162 million divided by 4 billion = 4%)
  • The remainder - 95% of ALL the world's vision impaired (over 4 billion people) - have refractive error correctible with glasses! (...nevertheless, these more difficult and/or expensive-to-remedy vision impairments receive the overwhelming - some say "disproportionate" - share of charitable contributions, efforts and funding worldwide).
  • The World Bank estimates over 2.5 billion people subsist on less than $2 (USD) a day
  • 2-3 billion poor people worldwide with refractive error cannot afford and/or have no access to vision care or eyeglasses.
  • Between 50 and 70 million pairs of eyeglasses are purchased and/or replaced annually in the US
  • There are approximately FIVE HUNDRED MILLION pairs of used eyeglasses available for donation in the U.S. (based on an estimated average of 2.7 available pairs per wearer)
  • It is estimated that under 2% of the eyeglasses that COULD be recycled each year are collected.
  • MUCH MORE can be done...CLICK ON "HOW YOU CAN HELP - SPEC$ + BUCK$" on the green navigation bar (above, left) to learn more.