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.

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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.
Magnitude of sight loss
Data Story

Magnitude of sight loss

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

Gender

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

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View sight loss data by countries

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