19/03/2026
Approximately 7.5 million people in Kenya live with avoidable sight loss, according to Value of Vision report launched during the United Nations General Assembly
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), Seva Foundation and Fred Hollows Foundation commissioned the report.
The report said delivering six simple, cost-effective eye health priorities like eye tests in schools and distributing on-the spot reading glasses could inject Sh33 billion into the Kenyan economy every year, with a Sh1,300 return for every Sh130 invested.
The report said personal and economic costs of sight loss are wide-ranging, including unemployment, lower educational attainment, reduced income, increased caregiving burden that predominantly falls to women, mental ill health, and increased risk of injury and illness.
“For Kenya, a Sh3.3 billion investment in delivery would generate annual gains of over Sh33 billion,” the report said.
It named six priority areas for governments to prevent sight loss as; early detection through vision screenings in the community, giving out reading glasses on the spot where needed, increasing capacity in the eye health workforce, boost surgical productivity and teams, removing barriers to accessing eye health like cost, distance and stigma, and making cataract surgery even better with innovative training techniques, wider use of biometry and stronger minimum post-operation care standards.
The Star, Kenya .
