Nearly half the world’s people facing cataract blindness still cannot access a fifteen-minute surgery that costs less than most restaurant meals, exposing a crisis where the cure exists but remains locked behind walls of poverty and geography.

Quick Take

• 94 million people worldwide have cataracts, yet 17 million are already blind from the disease and nearly half of those needing surgery lack access to it
• Cataract surgery ranks among the most cost-effective medical procedures available, yet progress in expanding access has stalled at only 15% growth over two decades
• Women and residents of low-income countries bear the heaviest burden, with sub-Saharan Africa seeing three in four patients go untreated
• The World Health Organization targets a 30% increase in surgical coverage by 2030, but current projections show only 8.4% growth this decade

The Paradox of Modern Medicine

Few medical truths cut as sharply as this one: cataract surgery is simultaneously one of the most powerful and most inaccessible interventions in global health. The procedure takes fifteen minutes. It costs a fraction of what most people in wealthy nations spend on eyeglasses. It restores sight with near-certainty. Yet millions remain unnecessarily blind. The World Health Organization’s February 2026 announcement, backed by new research in The Lancet Global Health analyzing data from 68 countries, forces us to confront an uncomfortable reality about modern medicine’s broken geography.

Devora Kestel, WHO Director for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, framed the stakes plainly: “Cataract surgery is one of the most powerful tools we have to restore vision and transform lives. When people regain their sight, they regain independence, dignity, and opportunity.” Those words carry weight precisely because they describe what should be routine but remains rare for half the world.

The Numbers That Demand Attention

Start with scale: 94 million people worldwide currently have cataracts. Of those, 17 million are already blind from the disease. The trajectory is worsening. From 1990 to 2021, cataract cases nearly tripled, rising from 32.8 million to 82.2 million as populations aged. Yet here is where the crisis deepens—global surgical coverage has increased by only 15% over the past two decades. Current modeling predicts just 8.4% growth this decade, leaving the World Health Assembly’s target of 30% increased coverage by 2030 mathematically unreachable without dramatic intervention.

The gender dimension compounds the injustice. For every 100 men living with cataract blindness, there are 108 women. For moderate to severe vision impairment, that ratio climbs to 112 women per 100 men. This disparity reflects not biology but access—women in low-income regions face systematic barriers to eye care that men do not.

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Geography as Destiny

The crisis is not evenly distributed. In South Asia, cataracts account for 62.9% of blindness. In Southeast Asia and Oceania, 47.9%. But the African Region faces the starkest gap: three in four people needing cataract surgery remain untreated. High-income countries boast 76 ophthalmologists per million people. Parts of sub-Saharan Africa have one. This workforce chasm perpetuates a system where geography determines whether someone regains sight or spends their final decades in darkness.

Without intervention, projections suggest 1.8 billion people will live with untreated vision impairment by 2050, with 90% residing in low- and middle-income countries. Yet the economic case for action is compelling. Addressing preventable sight loss could generate US$411 billion in annual global economic benefits—a return that should command attention from policymakers focused on development and poverty reduction.

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. Yet it’s also one of the most treatable.

– Knowing the signs
– Getting regular eye exams
– Accessing timely treatment

can protect your 👁️ vision.

Here are 5 things to know about cataract 🔗 https://t.co/i8mC6XaDGC pic.twitter.com/JebRO07Hv6

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 11, 2026

The solution exists. The barriers are systemic. Professor Ningli Wang, director of Beijing Tongren Eye Center, captured the challenge: “By prioritising eye health through increased investment and restructuring health systems, we can provide simple, existing solutions such as these, rapidly improving lives and livelihoods worldwide.” The question facing governments and health systems is no longer whether cataract surgery works. It is whether they will commit the resources to make it accessible to those who need it most.

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Sources:

Global Estimates on the Number of People Blind or Visually Impaired
Cataract Remains Leading Global Cause of Blindness
One in Two People Facing Cataract Blindness Need Access to Life-Changing Surgery
Low-Income Countries Face Highest Cataract Burden
Vision Loss Could Be Treated in One Billion People Worldwide
Cataract Global Data for 2030