Child eye health

See why millions of children live with treatable vision problems—and what can be done to change it. Best viewed on desktop — scroll slowly to explore the full data story.

Share on LinkedIn Back to top

Burton, M. et al. Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health: Vision Beyond 2020. The Lancet Global Health (2021).

Kuper H, et al. The impact of disability on the lives of children; cross-sectional data including 8,900 children with disabilities and 898,834 children without disabilities across 30 countries. PLoS One 2014; 9: e107300.

Hannum E, et al. Poverty and proximate barriers to learning: vision deficiencies, vision correction and educational outcomes in rural northwest China. World Dev 2012; 40: 1921–31.

Usama Siddiqui – Pakistan, Antonio Aragon Renuncio – Nicaragua, Mudassara Samiullah – Pakistan, Heidi Sangeun Nho – Viet Nam, Mudassara Samiullah – Pakistan, Abdullah Almajed – Saudi Arabia

Explore topics

Better Education In Sight
Interactive data story

Better Education In Sight

Uncorrected refractive error costs children worldwide 6.3 million years of schooling and $173 billion in future earnings every year.
The Value of Vision
Interactive data story

The Value of Vision

Investing $7 billion in eye health across low- and middle-income countries could return $199 billion in economic benefits — making it one of the best buys in global health.
Effective cataract surgical coverage
Interactive data story

Effective cataract surgical coverage

Cataract surgery is fast, straightforward, and inexpensive. However for millions around the world, it remains out of reach.

Featured news

Corneal opacities impose substantial avoidable vision loss in India

A national survey estimated that corneal opacities caused avoidable blindness in approximately 880,000 people in India in 2023.
Written by
Gift Chimpangu

Study highlights high myopia burden among schoolchildren in rural China

Across seven provinces in China, 42.9% of schoolchildren in rural counties had myopia.
Written by
Ai Chee Yong

Routine monitoring of cataract surgery outcomes needed to improve coverage in Kenya and Nepal

Interviews in Kenya and Nepal reveal two very different cataract systems running into the same limit.
Written by
Gift Chimpangu

View sight loss data by countries

Explore and understand how sight loss affects different parts of the world and the impact that it has.
View by country
Two young boys wearing decorated heart-shaped glasses laughing and hugging during an eye health event.