How poor eyesight is failing Kenya's children and fueling road deaths

Every day, thousands of children across Kenya and Africa sit in classrooms squinting at blackboards they cannot clearly see, struggling to follow lessons that blur before their eyes. Many are labelled slow learners or inattentive. Meanwhile, on highways stretching from Nairobi to rural towns, drivers navigate busy roads with compromised vision, a silent danger hiding in plain sight.

Poor eyesight, experts warn, has quietly emerged as a major contributor to both road accidents and poor academic performance among school-going children in Kenya and across Africa. Yet, despite being largely preventable and treatable, uncorrected vision remains one of the most overlooked public health challenges of our time.

According to Kenya’s Ministry of Health, more than 16.7 million Kenyans require vision correction. Alarmingly, 87 per cent of them remain untreated.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that nearly 70 per cent of people on the continent living with refractive errors receive no treatment at all, exposing a significant gap in access to basic eye care services.

Globally, the WHO identifies uncorrected refractive error as the leading cause of vision impairment, the second leading cause of blindness, and the largest unaddressed disability worldwide.

Refractive error

In Kenya, the Ministry of Health’s 2023 Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness revealed that effective refractive error coverage stands at just 6.7 per cent. In practical terms, fewer than seven out of every 100 Kenyans who need vision correction are receiving it.

Dr Monicah Bitok, Head of the Eye Health Section at the Ministry of Health and a practising ophthalmologist, is among those leading efforts to address the crisis.  “When we talk about refractive errors, we mean conditions that prevent someone from seeing clearly and require correction through spectacles, contact lenses, or sometimes surgery,” Dr Bitok said during the launch of the SPECS initiative.

She outlined the most common forms: myopia (short-sightedness), hyperopia (long-sightedness), and presbyopia, the age-related difficulty in focusing on nearby objects, usually beginning after the age of 40. “You often see people above 40 stretching their hands away while reading a text message,” she noted. “That is presbyopia. Essentially, refractive errors can affect people of all ages.”

However, she stresses that early detection is particularly critical for children. When developing eyes fail to send clear images to the brain due to uncorrected vision problems, permanent impairment can occur. “If the brain does not receive clear images while the eye is developing, it locks in poor vision permanently,” Dr Bitok explains, adding; “That condition is known as amblyopia, or lazy eye, and once development is complete, it cannot be corrected.”

The link between vision and learning remains widely underestimated. A child unable to see the classroom board will inevitably struggle academically, not because of limited ability, but because clear vision, the foundation of learning, is missing.

“A child may perform poorly simply because they cannot see well,” she says. “Give them a pair of glasses, and suddenly their performance improves.”

Warning signs are often visible. Children who sit unusually close to televisions, squint frequently, complain of headaches, rub their eyes, or appear inattentive in class may be struggling with undiagnosed vision problems.

Poor vision can contribute to school dropout, limiting future opportunities for higher education and employment.

Beyond classrooms, poor eyesight presents a largely unrecognised risk on Kenyan roads. Unlike many countries, Kenya does not require mandatory vision screening during the issuance or renewal of driving licences. “That matatu you board every day, you do not know the driver’s visual status,” she warns.

Refractive error contributes to road traffic accidents, yet it remains largely absent from road safety discussions because its effects are gradual rather than immediately visible.

Even when individuals recognise they have vision problems, accessing care remains difficult. Only about 19.1 per cent of Kenyans have health insurance coverage. Optical benefits under the national insurance scheme are limited to approximately Sh950 per family annually for children under 18, an amount Dr Bitok describes as insufficient.

Most specialised eye care services are concentrated within private facilities, placing treatment beyond the financial reach of many citizens, particularly the 71 per cent of Kenyans in rural areas.

Access barriers are further reinforced by persistent myths and misconceptions surrounding spectacles. “There is a belief that wearing glasses weakens the eyes or causes them to sink, but that is not true,” Dr Bitok says, adding; “If a doctor prescribes glasses for your child, parents should allow them to wear them without fear.”

Social stigma and misinformation continue to discourage many families from seeking care, delaying diagnosis and worsening outcomes.

Increased use of smartphones, tablets and digital devices among children is contributing to rising cases of short-sightedness. “The developing eye needs exposure to distant objects,” Dr Bitok explains. “When children spend too much time on screens, they lose that interaction.”

She offers a clear recommendation: children under the age of two should not be exposed to screens, while older children should balance screen use with outdoor activities that promote healthy visual development.

Experts emphasise that addressing Kenya’s vision crisis requires more than individual behaviour change. Strengthening school-based screening programmes, expanding community outreach services, integrating eye care into primary healthcare, and improving insurance coverage are all critical steps.

Early detection, they argue, is both simple and cost-effective. A basic eye examination and an affordable pair of spectacles can transform educational outcomes, enhance workplace productivity and reduce preventable road accidents.

Ultimately, clear vision should not be a privilege determined by income, geography or awareness. It is a fundamental component of public health, education and national development.