RestoringVision

Over 1 billion people worldwide have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed, and 80% — 826 million people — only need reading glasses to correct their sight. 90% live in low and middle-income countries and cannot access or afford the glasses they need to see clearly. People as early as age 35 are dropping out of the workforce due to presbyopia and being driven deeper into poverty for this reason: a lack of access to reading glasses.

RestoringVision is a leading global nonprofit dedicated to creating equitable access to vision services and eyeglasses for people living on less than $2 a day worldwide. Since 2003, RestoringVision’s interventions have transformed the lives of over 28 million people in need worldwide. In 2024 alone, RestoringVision’s programs will reach 5.5 million people living in poverty. RestoringVision’s proven programs are implemented in partnership with over 3,000 NGO and government partners. The organization also serves as a leading voice and advocate for the global prioritization of eye health at the level of the United Nations and World Health Organization.

RestoringVision works globally, in more than 150 countries since we started 20 years ago. We are scaling our partnerships in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Our programs unlock pathways to livelihoods, education, poverty alleviation and economic development, and health and well-being with clear vision and eyeglasses for people with presbyopia. From practice to policy, our cost-effective and life-changing programs are supporting the achievement of the global targets for refractive error correction and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Click here for the article in the current issue of the Community Eye Health Journal co-authored by RestoringVision leaders: Pelin Munis, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, and Mark Lorey, Vice President of Global Programs and Impact.

For more information, visit restoringvision.org.