Orthoptists are seeing an increase in parents who cannot afford their child's glasses, Therefore, they are calling on the minister to compensate parents for their child's glasses via their basic insurance premium. "Glasses are not a luxury item." The associations for orthoptists, optometrists, ophthalmologists, and the Dutch Eye Association made this plea during a conference of the Stichting Blindenhulp, which is the Blind Aid Foundation.
These organizations have noticed that parents are having more and more trouble affording their children's glasses. They estimate that 28,000 children have families that struggle to afford them. The Dutch Orthoptic Society conducted a survey to get a better view of the issue.
This was filled in by 220 orthoptists. Three-quarters of the respondents feel that some parents cannot afford their child's glasses on at least a monthly basis. For 14 percent, this thought occurs weekly or daily.
Ruth van Nispen, chair of Vision 2020, a project in which the group is trying to eliminate poor vision and avoidable blindness in the Netherlands, said the numbers are painful. "Glasses are not a luxury item," said Van Nispen. "Access to good glasses is of crucial importance for children and unmissable for equal opportunity in society.
" The organizations involved had sent a letter with this message to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in June. Van Nispen said that there was no response to the letter. That is why the organizations have made this public a.