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Product Narrative: Eyeglasses. A market landscape and strategic approach to increasing access to eyeglasses in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

CHAUDRON, Mathilde
SAVAGE, Margaret
et al
July 2020

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Increasing access to eyeglasses to eliminate the burden of uncorrected refractive errors in LMICs will require a multisectoral approach that brings together the public and the private sector, multilateral organisations, and donors. This will require an approach that increases demand for eyeglasses, raises the number of access points for screening and provision, and accelerates the availability of affordable products. To achieve this, we propose five strategic objectives that can strengthen the market in both the short and longer term.

Product Narrative: Prostheses. A market landscape and strategic approach to increasing access to prosthetic devices and related services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

LIAO, Cynthia
SEGHERS, Frederick
SAVAGE, Margaret
FINEBERG, Alison
AUSTIN, Vicki
HOLLOWAY, Catherine
OLDFREY, Ben
April 2020

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While about 1.5 million people undergo amputations every year, WHO estimates that only 5-15% of amputees who need prosthetic devices in LMICs have access to them. High prices of prosthetic services in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs), combined with high indirect costs for users (for example to travel to service points), make prosthetic services unaffordable to many of the people who need them. 

Prosthetic services can be made more affordable by: 1) increasing the number of service units (in particular, by leveraging decentralised service models and the innovative technologies that enable them); 2) establishing reimbursement schemes that encapsulate all costs to the user; and 3) leveraging alternative forms of financing for both capacity-building and user financing.

An opportunity exists to transform access to prosthetic services and products in LMICs, but this will require a coordinated effort between: 1) governments to expand service capacity; 2) global stakeholders to provide guidance on products and technologies; 3) suppliers to expand market presence and offerings; and 4) donors to support these activities. 

Five strategic objectives are proposed to accelerate access to prosthetic services in LMIC

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