World Blindness: The Facts

•   An estimated 37 million people worldwide are blind.
•   Every year, an additional 1-2 million persons go blind.
•   75% of this blindness is treatable and/or preventable.
•   90% of the blind live in the poorest parts of the developing world.
•   Without proper interventions the number of blind will increase to   75 million by 2020.
•   Restorations of sight are amongst the most cost-effective   interventions in health care.

The Challenge

•   37 million people are blind and 124 million have low vision,   comprising a total of more than 161 million people   with serious visual impairment. Millions more people are   functionally blind or visually impaired due to uncorrected   refractive error.
•   Blindness has an enormous personal, social and economic cost,   limiting the education and life choices of otherwise healthy   people, and placing a significant weight on family, community, and   social and health services
•   Blindness is associated with lower life expectancy
•   90% of the world's blind live in developing countries
•   There are at least 11.6 million blind people in the South East Asia   Region, 9.3 million in the Western Pacific Region and 6.8 million in   Africa
•   More than 82% of all blind people are at least 50 years old
•   1.4 million children under the age of 15 are blind
•   Females have a significantly higher risk of being visually impaired   than males

But fortunately

•   75% of the world's blindness is avoidable - that is, its causes are   preventable or treatable
•   Treatments for the prevention and cure of blindness are among
    the most cost effective and successful of all health interventions