How poor eyesight is failing Kenya's children and fueling road deaths

A child during eye check-up. Poor eyesight quietly emerged as a major contributor to poor academic performance among school-going children. [iStock]

Every day, thousands of children across Kenya and Africa sit in classrooms squinting at blackboards they cannot clearly see, struggling to follow lessons that blur before their eyes. Many are labelled slow learners or inattentive. Meanwhile, on highways stretching from Nairobi to rural towns, drivers navigate busy roads with compromised vision, a silent danger hiding in plain sight.