Challenge

There are fifty million people in the world who live in the darkness of blindness. Of these, more than half, twenty-five million, suffer from cataract blindness. Visual loss from cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world. There is an increase of one and a half million cases of cataract blindness each year. The consequences of cataract blindness include intense human and economic suffering.

The vast majority of those suffering cataract blindness live in the developing nations of the world. They are needlessly blind because of poverty, a lack of medical insurance and inadequate access to eye care/surgical services.

The cure for cataract blindness involves a simple, safe surgery that costs only a few dollars and takes just a few minutes. While the solution is so simple, it is beyond the reach of most of the people of the world. We are committed to change this.

The challenge of the World Cataract Foundation is to play a major role in the efforts to eliminate cataract blindness in many parts of the world through surgery, training, and equipping. The vision, however, will become reality only with the compassion and help of many friends and partners in helping the world to see.