Priority eye diseases
Cataract
Definition
Cataract is clouding of the lens of the eye which impedes the passage of light. Although most cases of cataract are related to the ageing process, occasionally children can be born with the condition, or a cataract may develop after eye injuries, inflammation, and some other eye diseases.
Magnitude
According to the latest assessment, age related cataract is responsible for 48% of world blindness, which represents about 18 million people. Although cataracts can be surgically removed, in many countries surgical services are inadequate, and cataract remains the leading cause of blindness. As people in the world live longer, the number of people with cataract is growing. Cataract is also an important cause of low vision in both developed and developing countries. Even where surgical services are available, low vision associated with cataract may still be prevalent, as a result of the long period spent waiting for operations and barriers to surgical uptake, such as cost, lack of information, and transportation problems.
Prevention and treatment
Comprehensive prevention of cataract development is not known yet. Reduction of cigarette smoking, ultraviolet light exposure, and alcohol consumption may prevent or rather delay the development of cataract. diabetes mellitus, hypertension and high body mass index are identified as additional risk factors.
The treatment of cataract is an operation, which is very successful in restoring sight. The opaque lens is removed and replaced by an artificial intraocular lens. In many remote parts of the developing world, people remain blind from cataract, due to a lack of access to quality eye care at an affordable cost. Among the first 5 most cost-effective health intervention.
- Strategies for the prevention of blindness in national programmes
- Cataract Surgical Rate (CSR) in WHO Regions (maps)
- Cataract blindness – challenges for the 21st century [pdf 256kb]
- International Council of Ophthalmology
VISION 2020 role
VISION 2020 through its member organisations facilitates the availability of affordable and high quality cataract surgical services. In countries of Africa and Asia cataract accounts for at least half of all blindness, despite the known technology that can restore vision at an extremely low cost. Reducing the backlog of cataract-blind mainly requires training ophthalmic personnel, strengthening the existing health care infrastructure, affordable pricing, and the availability of surgical supplies.
