OVERCOMING THE MOUNTAIN OF GLOBAL BLINDNESS
ENVISIONING A WORLD WITHOUT AVOIDABLE BLINDNESS
Globally, 43 million people are blind—80% of this burden is treatable or preventable.
- 17 million people are blind due to untreated cataracts alone, a condition that can be cured with a ten-minute surgery and under $25 in material costs.
- There are millions in the world who needlessly suffer from corneal blindness... For the 12.7 million people waiting for a corneal transplant, only one cornea is available for every 70 needed.
- Due to a severe shortage of eye care providers and aging and growing populations, the global backlog of treatable blindness will only increase if effective solutions are not realized.
- Globally, Cure Blindness Project has over 65 implementing partners and a volunteer network of over 100 collaborators. Our 2023 acquisition of SightLife International... expands our reach and magnifies our impact further.
Our Vision
A world where no one is needlessly blind.
Our Mission
We enable countries to cure avoidable blindness by developing high-quality, cost-effective eye care in underserved areas of the world.
Impact Since The Beginning
Together with our supporters and partners:
1.6 Million
Globally
Surgeries Performed
16.5 Million
Screenings
and Basic Treatments
20,100
Eye Care Professionals
From 43 Countries Received Training
50,000
Cases of
Corneal Blindness Prevented
200,000+
Corneas
Provided Through Eye Bank Partners
5
Eye Hospitals
& Training Institutes Established
WHY WE HELP
For millions of people, blindness is treatable. Unfortunately, 90% of people suffering from vision loss live in low and middle-income countries where a solution isn't available. Without care, blindness dramatically affects individuals, their families and their communities.
- Blind children are more likely to die in childhood than children with good vision, especially in low-income countries.
- Vision loss is linked to social exclusion more broadly, including the experience of negative attitudes, violence and bullying, sexual assault, and loneliness.
- The restoration of sight helps break the cycle of poverty and inequity. Studies show that as many as 90% of blind individuals in poor communities cannot work. 55% of the world's blind are women - and 90% of women who are blind are living in poverty.
- Sight helps people learn. Children can learn twice as much when they see clearly.
HOW WE HELP
Cure Blindness Project's approach to eye care is unique—it focuses on building local capacity, ensuring quality infrastructure and equipment are available, enabling quality patient care and aiding effective prevention. We provide training and equipment to healthcare professionals, who then go on to provide eye care services in their own communities. This action-based approach builds local leadership, empowers key actors, and develops sustainable practices from the ground up.
Local Capacity
Infrastructure & Equipment
Patient Care
Prevention
WHERE WE STARTED
Founded in 1995 as the Himalayan Cataract Project, Cure Blindness Project is a global nonprofit organization driven to help people retain or regain their sight. We envision a world where no one is needlessly blind. To make that happen, we enable underserved communities to cure avoidable blindness by developing high-quality, cost-effective, sustainable eye care wherever they are. What began in the mountains of Nepal has grown today to millions of surgeries, screenings and treatments performed in over 30 countries-and we won't stop until everyone in the world with avoidable blindness can see.
WHERE WE WORK
Cure Blindness Project tackles avoidable blindness in over 30 countries in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with core country operations in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Ethiopia, and Ghana. Expansion initiatives are underway in countries including South Sudan, Tanzania, the Philippines, Eritrea, and Somaliland.
