Was blind but now I see....glasses and nets

British inventor Josh Silver, a former professor of physics at Oxford University, has come up with a new product design, water-lensed glasses.

Silver has developed glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful they become. Inside the device's plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.

The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens until those who were once, for all purposes blind, can now see. In the developing world trained optometrists are desperately in demand. The poor would not be able to afford their services even if they could get to their office. Just a thought, in Britain there is one optometrist for every 4,500 people, in sub-Saharan Africa the ratio is 1:1,000,000.

Sub-Saharan African does just over 2% of world trade yet has 10% of the worlds population, with 60% of those living with AIDS. "In southern and East Africa, as well as in parts of central Africa, serious AIDS epidemics will most probably continue for some time to come.It is important to continue working on the socioeconomic and sociocultural conditions that create the climate where poverty,illiteracy and vulnerability occurs so that HIV declines can be initiated or maintained.

Will literacy help? For every ten boys in secondary school in sub-Saharan Africa, there are less than eight girls. Will being able to see to work, to read, to craft, to build help? With the income most bring in,the average African would need to work 10 months to buy a copy of Windows XP, let alone be able to afford a computer. Many places lack the infrastructure to support information technology.

In particular, this part of the world has the ideal rainfall, temperature, and mosquito type that make it the global epicenter of malaria. This has been perhaps the greatest factor in slowing Africa’s economic development. It is important to remember also,the legacy of the Arab and
European slave trade; the tensions created by the artificial geopolitical boundaries created by the results of Western colonialism; the issues between indigenous religions, Christianity, and Islam; current dictatorial governments; and major humanitarian crises, such as Rwanda and Darfur, that create seemingly insurmountable problems as many Africans try to rise up and out of crushing poverty.

There are any kinds of blindness. Would that all could be addressed with a simple pair of water lensed glasses.Would that the solution to aiding Africa be as simple as a pair of glasses or a malaria net. It's a start.