NEW YORK—To raise awareness of the role quality eyecare plays in an effective business, Clearly has released a short video (see below) to coincide with Davos 2019. The video, which encourages businesses to commit to providing their employees with quality eyecare, expands on information gleaned from last year’s groundbreaking PROSPER study, which was sponsored by Clearly. Clearly is encouraging all viewers to share the video with their friends, families and colleagues, to help bring their message to those who need to see it most.

Last year, The Lancet Global Health published a groundbreaking study which confirmed that effective eyecare improves productivity at work. In the PROPSPER study, tea leaf pickers who were provided with corrective lenses saw their productivity boost by 22 percent for those aged over 40, and 32 percent for those over 50. That adds up to an extra day of productivity each week, and is also the largest ever recorded productivity increase from any health intervention.

PROSPER was the first ever randomized controlled trial to explore the link between clear vision and productivity, and its implications go far beyond tea leaf pickers. James Chen, founder of Clearly, said after the study, “Seven hundred years after glasses were first invented, we now have conclusive proof of the link between clear vision and productivity. Poor vision is the scandal the world forgot and affects a third of the world’s population. Solving this issue will accelerate progress against the UN’s goals on health, quality education, decent work, gender equality and poverty elimination.”

After the publication of the PROSPER study, Chen penned a letter to over 100 of the largest employers of people in developing countries, in which he asked them to provide free sight tests and affordable glasses for their workers. With over a third of the world population suffering from poor vision without treatment, this small addition would improve both the workers’ lives, and the businesses’ bottom lines.

In April 2018, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, the leaders of the 53 British Commonwealth countries pledged to take action toward bringing quality eyecare to everyone. Although governments have made this commitment, not all businesses have followed suit.

The World Economic Forum, or Davos, 2019 runs from January 22 to 25, 2019, in Davos, Switzerland.