The prevalence of blindness and vision impairment worldwide is set to triple from nearly 36 million to 38.5 million by 2020, and 115 million in 2050 due to an increase in the ageing population, a study has claimed.
The study, published in the journal Lancet Global Health, showed that in 2015, an estimated 36 million people were blind, 217 million were moderately or severely vision impaired, and 188 million had mild vision impairment.
Near-vision impairment due to uncorrected presbyopia affected 1.09 billion people aged 35 years or older.
Most of the blind people live in South Asia (11.7 million, 80 percent), followed by East Asia (6.2 million) and Southeast Asia (3.5 million). Some parts of sub-Saharan Africa also have particularly high rates.
Further, there are more than 200 million people with moderate to severe vision impairment, which is expected to rise to more than 550 million by 2050.
Visual impairment also limits people's educational and economic opportunities, Bourne said.
The study calls for better investment in treatments, such as cataract surgery, and ensuring people have access to appropriate vision-correcting glasses.
(This article was in an arrangement with IANS.)
(We all love to express ourselves, but how often do we do it in our mother tongue? Here's your chance! This Independence Day, khul ke bol with BOL – Love your Bhasha. Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at bol@thequint.com or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)