More than 39 million people worldwide suffer from unnecessary blindness. Approximately 80% of blindness is preventable or cured.  More than half of cases of blindness are due to cataract – which can be surgically treated. Most of these people live in the developing world, where poor nutrition and limited access to eye care can mean a life limited by needless blindness. Numerous studies have shown that sight restoration with cataract surgery is among the most cost-effective interventions in health care. 

Blindness is particularly devastating in the developing world, where it has a profound impact on the quality of life for the blind person and his or her community. Blindness takes an able-bodied person out of the workforce, or a child out of school to lead a parent around by a stick. Spouses are often required to become full-time caregivers, and two income-producing individuals in a family are effectively lost. When a family is impoverished to begin with, the blindness of a single family member can become the tipping point for survival. For the destitute, blindness is often a death sentence.

In addition to blindness, approximately 250 million people suffer from moderate to severe vision impairment.  A significant percentage of these individuals can be helped with eyeglasses.