The problem
Despite India’s rapid economic progress in recent years, one third of the world’s poorest people live there. It is often those who have the least that go blind due to a lack of simple treatment, and stay blind due to a lack of simple surgery. Eye conditions such as cataract, refractive error, glaucoma and childhood blindness are rife.
It is estimated that in India today over 15 million people are blind, 400,000 of whom are children. Over 50% of blind children die within one or two years of becoming blind. Millions more suffer from low vision or are at risk of blindness.
The real tragedy is that the majority of these people are needlessly blind – 75% of cases can be prevented or cured with a straightforward and cost-effective treatment.
Blindness and poverty – a vicious circle
Blindness causes poverty, and it is often the poorest people who go blind due to a lack of treatment. Click here to find out why...
Children
Over 50% of blind children die within one to two years of becoming blind. Find out how blindness can affect children and why it is so important we get involved.
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