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Vision 2020

My Lords, the unfortunate reality is that levels of poverty are higher among the blind than among those suffering from any other disability. We are all grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, for securing a debate in this crucial area. Vision 2020 has been a shining example of how partnerships—and in particular public-private partnerships—can be so effective. There is no better example of this, as noble Lords mentioned, than the Seeing is Believing campaign launched by Standard Chartered Bank in 2003. What a difference it is making. We are also fortunate that we have with us my noble friend Lord Low, who is such a tremendous inspiration to us all in the amazing work that he has carried out with the RNIB, which he led for so many years. I have personally seen the power of public-private partnerships in founding the UK India Business Council, which is supported by UK Trade and Investment—the Government working together with business in promoting the UK-India relationship. India, which was mentioned by the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, has the highest population of visually impaired people in the world by far. One-third of the world's blind people live in India. A study performed by the Prasard Eye Institute in my birthplace of Hyderabad at the turn of the millennium calculated the direct and indirect economic loss due to blindness in India at $4.5 billion per year. To put that figure in perspective, in the year of the study, it would have cost a tiny fraction of that to treat all the cataract cases in India. I have seen in India institutions such as the Happy Home and School for the Blind in Mumbai, run by the inspirational Meher Banaji, and the amazing, positive impact that they have. Childhood blindness accounts for 28 per cent of the lifetime economic loss. Those children are robbed of a start in life, their disability hindering their primary education and with family members coming to stay at home as caretakers, poverty becomes a real prospect. An investment in developing nations and in their children is an investment in the future, and the future of the children. The problem of disability, and, more specifically, blindness, not only causes hardship at the level of the individual but has a domino effect. The scope of that knock-on effect is hard to grasp. As the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, said, 90 per cent of those living with blindness live in low-income countries. We can see how real the effects are. It is not only the blind who feel the desperate grip of hardship, but the families of the blind and the communities in which those families live. Access to healthcare is a human right and there is no question that under that principle, every possible action should be taken to ensure that those living with impaired sight are given the treatment that they need. If that is not incentive enough, the global economic burden of blindness is shocking. The global impact due to low vision and lost productivity was estimated at $42 billion in 2000. In the UK, once you reach the age of 40, an annual glaucoma test is provided free, funded by the Government. Just imagine how many unnecessary cases of impaired sight could be avoided if that were available in developing countries throughout the world. In our work at the UK India Business Council, we have realised, with British companies working in India, that corporate social responsibility is not a nice thing to do, it is a must. I believe that, through the power of government, and governments working together with the private sector and NGOs, we can eliminate unnecessary blindness forever throughout the world. I urge the Minister and the Government to do everything that they can to make that a reality.