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80 percent of the world’s blindness is avoidable.

World Blindness Awareness
Every five seconds one person in the world goes blind. Below are the five leading causes of blindness and vision loss throughout the world.

Cataracts, a clouding of the eye’s lens that obstructs the passage of light, are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. They usually develop as part of the aging process; however, they can result from eye injuries, certain diseases (diabetes) and genetic inheritance. Although cataracts cannot be prevented, once cataracts impair vision, they can be removed through cataract surgery. However, many people in developing countries don’t have access to this sight-saving treatment.

Trachoma, a chronic and contagious infection of the eyelid and cornea, is spread by contact with eye discharge from an infected individual and/or bacteria transmitted by an insect. There are 5.6 million people blind, visually impaired or at immediate risk of going blind from trachoma, making it responsible for 15 percent of the world’s blindness. Since trachoma cannot be completely eliminated in the world, antibiotics, personal and environmental hygiene and eyelid surgery can reduce the number of individuals affected.

Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of the black fly that thrives in fertile riverside areas. It is estimated that more than 100 million people are at risk for contracting river blindness, about 18 million have the disease and 800,000 suffer from visual impairment because of it. For those affected by onchocerciasis, the only treatment is an annual dose of ivermectin.

Childhood blindness may be caused by vitamin A deficiency, measles infection, conjunctivitis in the newborn, congenital cataracts, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) or other deficiencies. These problems have left more than 1.5 million children blind. The ways to combat childhood blindness include vitamin A supplements and making primary eye care and education readily available.

Refractive errors, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia, occur when the shape of the eye doesn’t allow light to be refracted (bent) properly, making images blurred. While refractive errors are called disorders, they are not diseases. To ensure the more than 135 million visually impaired individuals in the world are able to correct their refractive errors, refractive services, corrective glasses and low vision services need to be affordable and available to everyone. There are currently 180 million people throughout the world suffering from some degree of visual impairment. This needless suffering could largely be eliminated if people worldwide had access to sight saving medical and surgical care.