How wearing glasses can improve the economy

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2023

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Without being able to see clearly, people in low and middle income countries can find it difficult to secure a job or support their family.

Globally around one billion people need to wear glasses but do not have access to them. We look at what’s being done to help.

Producer / presenter: Sam Fenwick

(Image: Ankit Sharma; Credit: Ankit Sharma)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service. I'm Sam Fennec. Today we investigate how something sold for less than $2 can help live families out of poverty.
0:16.9	I work as a Yonkata in a garment factory. When I didn't have my glasses, I couldn't see things close to me. Now I work as a yon kata in a garment factory. When I didn't have my glasses, I couldn't see things
0:23.4	close to me. Now I work with glasses. I can see everything and I work much faster. While many of us
0:31.0	take clear vision for granted, around the world a billion people need eyeglasses and more than half of them
0:36.9	are women
0:37.5	and girls. When you put
0:39.2	extra money in the pocket
0:41.2	of women in particular
0:43.3	their children benefit
0:45.3	their families benefit
0:47.0	everybody benefits. It seems
0:49.2	such a simple solution.
0:51.3	So why are so many people in need
0:53.4	of glasses?
1:02.0	Thank you solution. So why are so many people in need of glasses? My name is Ankit Sharma. I am a truck driver.
1:11.3	I drive for 15 hours every day. I leave at 9 a.m. and come back home by 11 o'clock at night.
1:19.4	I get a decent wage, but there is so much inflation and prices are high at the moment.
1:25.2	I can't increase my prices. I have to take what the customer gives us
1:29.4	because I need to feed my family.
1:35.2	Ankit has two brothers and an elder sister
1:37.6	who recently got married.
1:39.6	He says he has to work long hours to support his family.
	...

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