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Cataract Surgeries

CBI has been financially supporting free cataract surgeries at Tarabai Desai Eye Hospital, Jodhpur for a number of years.

Additional information

Blindness Statistics:

39 million people around the world are blind according to the World Health Organization.

90% of the world’s visually impaired people live in developing countries.

80% of blindness is preventable or treatable.

The leading cause of blindness is cataract.

Cataract blindness is relatively rare in developed countries, but it accounts for 48% of blindness in the developing world, where people have limited access to eye care.

In the developing world, blindness and poverty often coexist. Cataract blind individuals are often unable to earn a living, and family members are able to work less because they must devote time to caring for a family member with blindness. Economic Benefits:

Cataract surgeries often restore a person’s ability to work. A sight-restored individual is also no longer dependent on family members, freeing those caregivers to resume their normal lives.

A 2007 article in the Journal Clinical and Experimental Optometry states that “a person who regained vision as a result of cataract surgery generated 1,500 percent of the cost of surgery in increased economic productivity during the first year following surgery.”

A recent report commissioned by the Fred Hollows Foundation estimated the value over a ten year period of eliminating avoidable blindness and visual impairment around the world to be $843.5 billion. With a benefit that large, the Fred Hollows Foundation placed eliminating avoidable blindness among the likes of primary school education and infrastructure projects in terms of its broader economic value.