Gender

Uncover the persistent gender gap in eye health, with women bearing a disproportionate burden of sight loss. Best viewed on desktop — scroll slowly to explore the full data story.

Bourne R, et al. (2021). Trends in prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment over 30 years: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. The Lancet global health, 9(2), e130-e143.

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

Bourne R, et al. Effective refractive error coverage in adults aged 50 years and older: estimates from population-based surveys in 61 countries. Lancet Glob Health. 2022;10(12):e1754–63.

UN Women. (2023, September). Policy brief: Closing the gender and inclusion gap in eye health.

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.

Md. Saroar Rahman Prodhan

Luca Catalano Gonzaga, South Sudan

Graham Coates, Sierra Leone

Nick Burn, Bwamanda Hospital DRC

Louis Leeson (Orbis International), Cameroon

Joy Saha, Dhaka

Arpan Chowdhury, India

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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

Causes of sight loss

The leading causes of sight loss are simple to treat—discover the conditions driving the global burden of sight loss.

Featured news

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.