HC Deb 10 December 1997 vol 302 c614W
Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development of she will assess the benefits of self-correcting spectacles in countries with limited optical services; and if she will make a statement. [20255]

Clare Short

My Department supported the first trials of these spectacles in Ghana. We concluded that spectacles with adaptable focal length could improve the eyesight and productivity of million of poor people. We has recently supported further development of technology. We continue discussions with the inventor on means to make the spectacles available to people in poor countries.