WHO Reveals 94 Million People Suffer from Cataracts and Need Surgery

Illustration of a cataract patient. (Freepik)

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that 94 million people worldwide suffer from cataracts. They also need immediate surgery access to overcome it.

The results were obtained by WHO through a recent study published by The Lancet Global Health. Cataracts, which are clouding of the eye lens that causes blurred eyes and can lead to blindness, affect 94 million people globally.

Cataract surgery, a simple 15-minute procedure, is one of the most cost-effective medical procedures and provides rapid and long-lasting vision recovery for patients.

Over the past two decades, global coverage of cataract surgery has increased by about 15 percent. The latest modeling also predicts coverage for cataract surgery to increase by about 8.4 percent for this decade.

However, progress needs to be sharply accelerated to meet the World Health Assembly target of a 30 percent increase by 2030.

"Cataract surgery is one of the most powerful ways we have to restore vision and change lives," said WHO Director of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, Devora Kestel, quoted from the WHO official website, Thursday, February 12, 2026.

The WHO considers the coverage of surgery for all cataract sufferers to be very important. By performing surgery, they can return to activities better.

"When people regain their sight, they regain independence, dignity, and opportunity," he said.

Through the study, the African region faces the largest gap, with three out of four people in need of cataract surgery not treated. Women are disproportionately affected in all regions, consistently experiencing lower access to treatment than men.

This gap reflects long-standing structural barriers, including a lack of and uneven distribution of eye care professionals, high out-of-pocket costs, long wait times, and limited awareness or demand for surgery.

Therefore, it is important for every country to accelerate progress by integrating vision screening and eye examinations into primary health care.

Then, surgical infrastructure investment is also important, expanding and distributing eye care workers better, especially in rural areas and underserved areas.