Did you know?

285 million visually impaired people

In 2010, the number of people visually impaired was estimated to
be 285 million, of whom 39 million were blind. This is a reduction
in the number of people previously estimated as being visually
impaired in 2004. This can be due to better data, but also due to
interventions which have reduced the number of people with
avoidable visual impairment.

An estimated 120 million are visually impaired because of

uncorrected refractive errors
Refractive errors (far and near sightedness) are among the
simplest to correct cases of visual impairment; almost all of them

can be corrected and normal vision can be restored with

eyeglasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery .

Did you know?

Around 1.4 million children are blind

The major causes of blindness in children include cataract,
retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and vitamin A deficiency.
Approximately half of all childhood blindness can be avoided or
treated. A global programme in 30 countries, through a
partnership between WHO and Lions Clubs International, is
providing eye care services to preserve and restore sight in
children.

A goal to reduce visual impairments by 25% by 2019

The 66th World Health Assembly approved an Action Plan which
aims to achieve a global reduction of avoidable visual
impairments of 25% by 2019. This is an achievable target which
requires the collaboration of governments, development agencies,
private sector and NGOs.

Visual impairment can limit peoples ability to

perform everyday tasks and can affect their quality of life
and ability to interact with the surrounding world.
Blindness, the most severe form of visual
impairment, can reduce peoples ability to perform daily
tasks, and move about unaided. Good quality
rehabilitation allows people with different degrees of
visual impairment to fully profit from life, achieve their
goals and be active and productive in todays society.
Most of the diseases and conditions causing visual
impairment and blindness can be prevented or readily
treated with known and cost-effective interventions.