Causes of sight loss

The leading causes of sight loss are simple to treat—discover the conditions driving the global burden of sight loss. Best viewed on desktop — scroll slowly to explore the full data story.

Bourne, RA, et al. “Causes of vision loss worldwide, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis.” The Lancet Global Health 1.6 (2013): e339-e349.

Danquah L, et al. The long term impact of cataract surgery on quality of life, activities and poverty: results from a six year longitudinal study in Bangladesh and the Philippines. PLoS One 2014; 9(4): e94140.

Kuper H, et al. Does cataract surgery alleviate poverty? Evidence from a multi-centre intervention study conducted in Kenya, the Philippines and Bangladesh. PLoS One 2010; 5(11): e15431.

Owsley, C, et al. (1999). Older drivers and cataract: driving habits and crash risk. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biomedical Sciences and Medical Sciences, 54(4), M203-M211.

Terry Cooper, Joy Saha, Daniela Cotovanu, Brian Nguyen, Graham Coates, Theresa Gende, Arpan Chowdhury, Operation Eyesight, Ulrich Eigner

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$Effective coverage of refractive error care$

Data Story

Effective coverage of refractive error care

A simple pair of spectacles can transform lives for hundreds of millions — yet glasses remain out of reach for far too many.

Data Story

Magnitude of sight loss

Discover how sight loss affects over a billion people worldwide—and why the number is still rising.

Data Story

Gender

Uncover the persistent gender gap in eye health, with women bearing a disproportionate burden of sight loss.

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Nepal’s Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness reveals progress in combating avoidable vision impairment

Nepal has achieved remarkable success in eye health, reducing vision impairment rates by more than half over the past decade. While challenges like gender disparity and cataract management still persist, the progress shows effective interventions are working.

Written by

Ayesha Siddiqui

Fiji eliminates trachoma as a public health problem

Fiji has been validated by WHO for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem, becoming the 26th country globally to achieve this milestone against the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.

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Ayesha Siddiqui