With a population of approximately one billion, Africa is typically known for being plagued by poverty and conflict. In 2010, an estimated 49% of people in sub-Saharan Africa were living on US$1.25.⁽²⁾ Life expectancy is also low on average - less than 50 years in many nations.⁽³⁾ For a continent with a large population paired with high levels of poverty, the scope of problems can seem overwhelming and the required solutions even more so. There is difficulty in wading through the complexity of issues, reaching agreements, or simply a lack of power or resources to implement change. Even if positive working solutions are found, the length of time it takes for policy changes to get through bureaucratic red tape is often disheartening when there is an urgent need for improvement in so many areas, such as education, health, infrastructure, employment and gender equality.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, globally, 285-million people are visually impaired.⁽⁴⁾ This condition has significant social and economic effects, particularly in developing countries where eye care is often inaccessible. This CAI paper is one of a two part series that discusses the benefits and potential of utilising simple and attainable technologies to address serious issues in the short term. The focus of this paper is OneDollarGlasses, a simple idea put into motion by a single person to address the problem of inaccessible eye care for low income people, and is now being implemented in four African countries. Accompanied by a high level of motivation and relatively inexpensive resources, the creativity and ingenuity of the human mind has the potential to develop ideas and technologies that could have significant and widespread positive effects where they are implemented.

The problem: Inaccessible eye care

The issue of visual impairment is heightened in developing countries where high proportions of people cannot access eye-health services. In Africa, the major causes of visual impairment are cataract, glaucoma, trachoma, childhood blindness, onchoceriasis and refractive error.⁽⁵⁾ Although the technologies exist to treat many impairments, in Africa there are serious shortages in trained personnel, resulting in low surgical rates and irregular outreach to the poorest and rural populations. Treatment can be difficult to obtain, as transport, lack of appropriate technologies and discrimination affect access to eye care, particularly for vulnerable groups such as the poor, the disabled and women.⁽⁶⁾

Impaired vision and a lack of proper treatment can have detrimental effects on poor and marginalised groups. For instance, the inability to work or attend school due to visual impairment can have severe social and economic consequences, particularly in countries with already high poverty rates and weak social safety nets. Approximately 75% of visually impaired people require assistance with everyday tasks.⁽⁷⁾ Children lose out on educational opportunities if they are visually impaired, but also if they have to care for or supplement income for a visually impaired adult. Adults meanwhile, can be excluded from productive working lives resulting in a loss of productivity – not only at the individual level but also at the collective level for a country as a whole.⁽⁸⁾

The good news is that the WHO estimates that many people suffering from poor vision could be treated with a simple sight test and eyeglasses. Estimates from 2006 reveal that 153-million people around the world have uncorrected refractive errors (known as near-sightedness, far-sightedness and astigmatism), which are easily diagnosed, measured and corrected.⁽⁹⁾ However, these are basic services that millions of people in middle and low income countries do not have access to. The OneDollarGlasses Association is attempting to reach these millions of people with simple technology and local training, starting in Africa.

The solution: OneDollarGlasses

The OneDollarGlasses concept was developed by Martin Aufmuth, a German math and physics teacher. Aufmuth was inspired by Paul Polak’s book Out of Poverty, in which Polak discusses an important invention that did not yet exist: a cheap pair of glasses affordable to people who live on US$1 per day.⁽¹⁰⁾ After walking by a 1-Euro store and seeing glasses for sale for €1 (US$1.30), Aufmuth wondered why this wasn’t available in poorer countries. Since then, Aufmuth began experimenting and eventually developed a pair of glasses of which the material used amounts to only US$0.80 per pair and takes only 12 minutes to produce (after some practice, of course). He called these OneDollarGlasses.

The frames are lightweight and flexible, made from rustproof, hypoallergenic 1mm-spring steel wire. OneDollarGlasses opticians are supplied with a box of 25 lenses, varying in strength from -6.0 to +6.0 diopters in steps of 0.5 diopters. Lenses are made of polycarbonate, which is much more resilient than the more commonly used glass or resin.⁽¹¹⁾ OneDollarGlasses are then produced on a specially designed bending machine that requires no electrical power and is virtually maintenance free. Frames can be produced in three different sizes – children size, medium size and a larger size. A simple hand bending device curves the frames once they have been sized, and there are even colourful beads available to slip on for some added uniqueness. Lenses are simply clicked into the frame by hand and can be easily replaced. Because they are so lightweight, they do not require traditional nose bridges. For added comfort, transparent tubes are shrunk onto the temples of the glasses using the heat of a traditional clay oven. The total manufacturing process for one pair of glasses takes anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the type of glasses and the experience of the optician.⁽¹²⁾

Benefits

One of the biggest benefits of OneDollarGlasses is the potential to make simple eye tests and corrective lenses available to people in villages who would not otherwise have access to eye care. The bending machine and all of the necessary tools and equipment fit into a 30 cm square box, making distribution fairly easy. Because electricity is not required, units are able to work in the most remote villages, and eye tests are done with a simple chart that can be attached to a wall or a tree.⁽¹³⁾ Once trained, opticians can travel with their equipment to people in villages who do not have money to travel, thereby circumventing one of the largest impediments to care for those in need.

Costing less than US$1 to make, another huge benefit of OneDollarGlasses is, of course, the price. These glasses are affordable even for very low income families who may have never previously had the opportunity for improved vision. The unit and the material for the first 500 pairs of glasses cost around US$3,200. These start-up costs are too high in target countries, so while the possession of the unit remains with OneDollarGlasses, they are provided to opticians for free through donations.⁽¹⁴⁾

OneDollarGlasses has also given local trainees the opportunity to earn more money for their families in addition to learning valuable new skills. The training of opticians can be completed in just 14 days, and further practice perfects their work. One bending unit can be utilised by three to four opticians simultaneously, which means that one unit has the production capacity of around 20 000–50 000 pairs of glasses a year. After training, opticians work independently and are able to sell glasses for anywhere from US$2-7 per pair, allowing them to cover their material costs and earn enough to feed their families. Additionally, production can be done at home, which allows women to work while simultaneously taking care of their children, providing them with a great opportunity for home-based income generation.⁽¹⁵⁾

Progress

Since The OneDollarGlasses Association was founded in 2012, it has been officially recognised as a charity and individual engineering companies have offered to manufacture parts for the bending machine for free. Aufmuth brought the first three bending machines to Uganda, and pilot projects have now been implemented in Burkina Faso, Rwanda and Tanzania.⁽¹⁶⁾ The goal is to reach the millions of people around the world with eye defects through training opticians and producing glasses.

Simple solutions should continue to be encouraged as they are by Siemens Stiftung, a hands-on style organisation that manages a competition to identify simple technological solutions to basic problems. The contest was launched at the UN Summit for Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where OneDollarGlasses secured €50 000 (US$67 500) for being awarded the top prize.⁽¹⁷⁾

Conclusion

With their high level of affordability, OneDollarGlasses have significant social and economic benefits. With improved vision, children who had stopped going to school because of impaired vision can return and adults can go back to work and continue to make money for their families. After a round of training and distribution of glasses to patients, Aufmuth says that a seamstress with her new glasses is overjoyed that she can now put the thread back into the needle by herself. An elderly man can see his village for the first time in his life, and disabled children can now attend classes, as they are able to see the writing on the wall.⁽¹⁸⁾ The positive effects of cheap, accessible eye care that OneDollarGlasses provides are evident.

Basic technology is by no means a solution to all of the incredibly complex and serious economic, social and security issues that Africa faces. But what it can do is start picking the low hanging fruit. With a bit of creativity, resourcefulness and opportunity, the everyday lives of Africans have the potential to be significantly improved by simple and affordable technologies. Part 2 of this two-part series on simple technologies in Africa will highlight how MakaPads – the first and only trademarked biodegradable sanitary pad made in Africa – are helping to reverse gender inequality by keeping young girls in school.

Written by Lonnie Kehler ⁽¹⁾

NOTES:

(1) Lonnie Kehler is a Research Associate with CAI, with a particular interest in technological innovation and the intersection of environment and social justice. Contact Lonnie through CAI’s Optimistic Africa unit ( optimistic.africa@consultancyafrica.com) Edited by Liezl Stretton. Research Manager: Charlotte Sutherland.
(2) ‘Poverty data’, The World Bank, http://worldbank.org.
(3) ‘Africa population’, World Population Review, 14 March 2014, http://worldpopulationreview.com.
(4) ‘Draft action plan for the prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment 2014-2019’, World Health Organization, 11 January 2013.
(5) ‘World Sight Day 2013 Report’, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, 10 October 2013, http://www.iapb.org.
(6) Ibid.
(7) ‘Why eye care is important,’ Unite for Sight, http://www.uniteforsight.org
(8) ‘Sight test and glasses could dramatically improve the lives of 150 million people with poor vision’, World Health Organization, 11 October 2006, http://www.who.int.
(9) Ibid.
(10) ‘Brief history of development’, OneDollarGlasses, http://www.onedollarglasses.org.
(11) Ibid.
(12) Ibid.
(13) Ibid.
(14) Tran, M., ‘Specs appeal: German physics teacher brings affordable glasses to Rwanda’, The Guardian, 2 January 2014, http://www.theguardian.com.
(15) ‘Brief history of development’, OneDollarGlasses, http://www.onedollarglasses.org.
(16) Ibid.
(17) Nakweya, G., ‘Africa-piloted projects win top simple tech awards’, SciDevNet, 7 November 2013, http://www.scidev.net.
(18) ‘Brief history of development’, OneDollarGlasses, http://www.onedollarglasses.org.