Vision rehabilitation is very effective in improving the function of people with irreversible visual impairment, which can be caused by eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, the consequences of trauma and age-related macular degeneration. Disruptive law firms are taking advantage of an increase in client demand for cheaper and more effective pandemic-induced legal advice that is forgoing billable hours to expand their presence at home and abroad. There are significant differences in causes between and within countries depending on the availability of eye care services, their affordability, and the population`s competence in eye care. For example, the proportion of visual impairment attributable to cataracts is higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. In high-income countries, diseases such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration are more common. With regard to regional disparities, it is estimated that the prevalence of television disabilities is four times higher in low- and middle-income regions than in high-income regions (1). In terms of near vision, rates of untreated near vision are estimated at over 80% in sub-Saharan Africa, while comparison rates are estimated at less than 10% in high-income regions of North America, Australasia, Western Europe and Asia-Pacific (2). This one billion people includes people with moderate or severe television disability or blindness due to untreated refractive errors (88.4 million), cataracts (94 million), glaucoma (7.7 million), corneal opacities (4.2 million), diabetic retinopathy (3.9 million) and trachoma (2 million). and near vision disorders due to untreated presbyopia (826 million) (1). Population growth and aging are expected to increase the risk of more people becoming visually impaired.
ALN has known Aluko & Oyebode for many years and has successfully worked with them in the past. This specific partnership was born out of a common vision. “Aluko shares ALN`s vision of being able to support our customers wherever they want to do business in Africa, so they were a natural choice for ALN,” commented Anjarwalla. “They combine global excellence with deep local expertise, a combination characteristic of ALN companies.” 1) Expert Group on Vision Loss of the Global Burden of Disease Study. Causes of blindness and visual impairment in 2020 and trends over 30 years: assessing the prevalence of avoidable blindness in relation to “VISION 2020: the right to vision”. Lancet Global Health 2020. doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30489-7 The International Classification of Diseases 11 (2018) classifies visual disorders into two groups, distance vision disorders and myopia disorders. In children, the causes of visual disturbances vary considerably from country to country. For example, in low-income countries, congenital cataract is a major cause, while in middle-income countries, it is more likely to be retinopathy of prematurity. As in the adult population, uncorrected refractive error remains one of the leading causes of visual impairment in children in all countries.
Visual impairment significantly affects the quality of life of the adult population. Adults with visual impairments often have lower rates of labour force participation and productivity, and higher rates of depression and anxiety. For older adults, visual impairment can contribute to social isolation, difficulty walking, a higher risk of falls and fractures, and a greater likelihood of early entry into nursing homes. Worldwide, at least 2.2 billion people have near and distant visual impairment. In at least 1 billion cases, or nearly half, the visual impairment could have been prevented or should be treated. While the company had “a slight drop in demand” when COVID-19 first hit Australia last March, McKnight said it quickly bounced back when, like other legal startups, it found its online offerings and lower price attractive to businesses facing pandemic uncertainty and working remotely. 2) Expert Group on Vision Loss of the Global Burden of Disease Study. Trends in the prevalence of blindness and near vision impairment over 30 years: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study.
Lancet Global Health 2020. doi: 10.1016/s2214-109X(20)30425-3 The move comes just months after the launch of remote legal services firm SprintLaw in the UK – the first local NewLaw firm to do so – citing COVID-19 as an accelerator for its decision to expand. Each eye disease requires a different and timely response. Effective interventions in the areas of promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation are available that address the needs of eye disease and visual impairment. Some are among the most cost-effective and feasible of all the health interventions that can be implemented. For example, uncorrected refractive errors can be corrected with glasses or surgery, while cataract surgery can restore vision.