Economic impact of sight loss

Sight loss is associated with significant economic costs to New Zealand society. Costs are borne by individuals with sight loss and by their families and whānau, Government and the wider community. The costs of sight loss include direct expenditure through the health system, productivity losses, informal care costs, the cost of aids, government welfare payments, and loss of wellbeing.

VISION 2020 NZ Clear Focus research

The RNZFB partnered with VISION 2020 New Zealand to release Clear Focus: The economic impact of vision loss in New Zealand in 2009, the first comprehensive analysis of the financial and personal costs of vision loss in New Zealand.

Clear Focus identifies that vision loss cost New Zealand society $2.8 billion in 2009, and this figure is increasing each year. Without a focused effort on preventing sight loss, Clear Focus projects a rise in the number of New Zealanders over 40 who have vision loss from 125,000 to 174,000 by 2020. Direct health costs alone would more than double to $523 million by 2020, compared with $198 million in 2009.

The estimated costs in the Clear Focus research are made up of direct health costs, other financial costs including lost productivity, aids, modifications and carer costs, and loss of wellbeing. The total economic cost of vision loss in 2009 was approximately $2.8 billion, or $22,217 per person with vision loss aged over 40 years.  

Read the Clear Focus research online.

Download the Clear Focus overview (PDF, 1.24 MB)

Download the Clear Focus overview (Word, 98 kB)

Download the Full Clear Focus research (PDF, 977 kB)

Download the Full Clear Focus research in electronic text (Word, 1.24 MB)

The Cost of Blindness in New Zealand

In 2004, the RNZFB commissioned The Cost of Blindness research on the quantitative and qualitative costs of blindness to the individual and the costs of blindness to society from Gravitas Research and Strategy Ltd and Market Economics Ltd. Additional analysis was completed by Dr Jonathan Godfrey and Deborah Brunning from Massey University.

The Cost of Blindness research found that the combined cost to society and the individual of moderate vision loss and blindness was between $88.5 million and $816 million in 2004, with most costs borne by the individual and their family. This estimate does not include data collected from all secondary sources such as goverment payments and RNZFB costs due to lack of information or consistency in the data received.

Copies of this research are still available to download by following the links below.

The Cost of Blindness in New Zealand (Word,1.37 MB)

Appendices to The Cost of Blindness in New Zealand (Word, 859 kB)

Supplementary Analysis of The Cost of Blindness in New Zealand (Word, 278 kB)