According to WHO estimates:

• Approximately 314 million people worldwide live with serious vision impairment
• Of these, 45 million people are blind and 269 million have low vision. Also included, 153 million people are visually impaired due to uncorrected refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness or astigmatism). In most cases, normal vision could be restored with eyeglasses or contact lenses
• Yet 80% of blindness is avoidable - i.e. treatable and/or preventable
• 90% of blind people live in low-income countries
• Restorations of sight, and blindness prevention strategies are among the most cost-effective interventions in health care
• Infectious causes of blindness are decreasing as a result of public health interventions and socio-economic development. Blinding trachoma now affects fewer than 80 million people, compared to 360 million in 1985
• Aging populations and lifestyle changes mean that chronic blinding conditions such as diabetic retinopathy are projected to rise exponentially
• Women face a significantly greater risk of vision loss than men
• Without effective, major intervention, the number of blind people worldwide has been projected to increase to 76 million by 2020