Local news
More than half of the South African population can’t afford eye care
One thing for certain is that many people who don’t have corrective eyewear or preventative eyecare may not be working to the best of their ability and therefore inadvertently affecting their potential to earn more.
Research within the optometry industry has shown that 75% of the population simply cannot afford eye care. Furthermore, the average price of an eye test in South Africa is R550, so if you earn R7500 per month (making you part of the top 10% wealthiest people) to get your eyes tested, you have to pay 7% of your salary just to find out the status of your eye health.
Amongst the most common eye problems are Blurred vision (called refractive errors), Age-related macular degeneration, Glaucoma, Cataracts and Diabetic retinopathy, all of which could have been either avoided or at least improved with treatment had the victims been tested and the disease or issue picked up at an early stage.
