India Has 25 Percent of World’s Blind

“India has the dubious distinction of having 12 million blind people, who constitute 25 per cent of the world’s total blind population,” says India’s Deccan Herald. A report by Youth Vision India, 2002, based on information gathered from colleges and schools in more than 40 cities throughout India, also pointed out that “more than 50 per cent of youth needing vision corrections were not even aware of the fact.” According to the findings, refractive errors and cataracts accounted for the majority of eye disorders in the country, and these were correctable. “Lack of awareness” and an “inadequate number of eyecare practitioners” are mentioned by the newspaper article as the major causes of India’s problem. It adds: “India has only 5000 optometrists, as against 40,000 recommended by the WHO.”