World Sight Day-Cataract among Indian Elderly

World Sight Day is a global health care event celebrated on the 2nd Thursday of every October to emphasize public awareness with respect to shedding light on the prioritizing of vision and eye health.

Cataract is a common condition among the elderly in India, and its prevalence increases with age. Older adults over 70 have a higher burden of cataracts than those aged 60–69 and women are more likely to have cataracts than men. Population of senior citizens is rising rapidly and in all likelihood will continue to do so. Population projections for India between year 2000 and 2050 indicate that although     total population would rise by 55% but 60+ population will rise by over 300% during this period and in 2050, one in every 5 persons will be a senior citizen.

Surgery for cataract has immense potential for immediate restoration of eye sight but cataract is still responsible for about 60% of blindness in India. Cataract is rare in young age but its prevalence rises exponentially as the age increases and so much so that in certain areas, 90% of 70+ people may have some cataract and some of them go blind for want of surgery. In absolute terms, number     of senior citizens with cataract is so great that despite lakhs of cataract surgeries done each year, a back log of un-operated cases continues to pile up. About 7% of senior citizens suffer  from cataract blindness. There is a back log of about 8 million cases with 2 million new cases   added each year.

National Program for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI) was launched in the year 1976 as a 100% Centrally Sponsored scheme with the goal to reduce the prevalence of blindness from 1.4% to 0.3%. Program has brought successes in reducing blindness due to various causes including those due to cataract. In Vision India-Right to Sight, India is committed to reduce the burden of avoidable blindness including elimination of cataract blindness.