Letters | Keep goal of ensuring eye health in the workplace in plain sight

Readers discuss challenges to ensuring healthy vision on World Sight Day, and a Nobel laureate’s inspiring journey

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A cafe employee works on her laptop in Tokyo on March 29, 2018. Those who work on computers must take steps to protect their eyesight by taking a 20-second break every 20 minutes to look 20 feet away. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 11:30am, 12 Oct 2023

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Maintaining healthy vision is vital to workplace safety, productivity and overall well-being. Unfortunately, work-related visual impairments affect around 13 million workers globally, leading to decreased productivity and potential threats to their long-term health and well-being.

Poor eye health not only affects individuals but also has a significant impact on the global economy. According to the Lancet Global Health Commission, US$411 billion is lost annually in productivity.

This year, World Sight Day focuses on eye health in the workplace, aiming to raise awareness among employers about their employees’ eye health.

The Fred Hollows Foundation has been providing accessible and affordable eye care services to those in need around the world. In Bangladesh, where the garment industry employs over 4 million people, most of them women, there are significant challenges around eye health and productivity. Women in this industry spend a great deal of time threading needles, repetitive and intricate work that often leads to vision problems. Visual impairments and eye strain rank among the top health issues experienced by garment factory workers.

Unfortunately, most workers lack access to basic eye health services, and financial constraints prevent them from getting their eyes checked. To address this, The Fred Hollows Foundation established visual detection corners in garment factories. Additionally, in partnership with the Awaj Foundation in Bangladesh, eye screening was set up near the factories at special cafes which offer free or affordable services outside work hours, benefiting over 255,000 garment workers in Dhaka and Chittagong. Doctors and nurses receive training in eye health and have access to specialised equipment for screening workers’ eyes at the cafes.

Employers can play a crucial role in supporting eye health in the workplace. We need the collective effort of governments, the private sector and organisations like ours to drive positive change for the advancement of vision health.