WHO says cataract surgery gap threatens 2030 target

The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging governments to accelerate access to cataract surgery after new research found that nearly one in two people worldwide with cataract-related blindness still do not receive the operation, underscoring how far countries remain from a 2030 global eye-care target.

A study published in The Lancet Global Health reported that global effective cataract surgical coverage, or the share of people who receive surgery and achieve a good visual outcome, was projected at 48.2 percent in 2025.

That figure is expected to rise by just 8.4 percentage points between 2020 and 2030, from 43.9 percent to 52.3 percent, well below the World Health Assembly goal of a 30 percentage-point increase by 2030.

The WHO reported that cataract, a clouding of the eye’s lens that causes blurred vision and can lead to blindness, affects more than 94 million people globally.

The agency described cataract surgery as a simple 15-minute procedure and one of the most cost-effective medical interventions, with immediate and lasting benefits for many patients.

Over the past two decades, global cataract surgery coverage has increased by about 15 percent, according to the WHO.

But the agency said that ageing populations and a rising number of cataract cases have pushed demand higher, leaving progress too slow to meet the international benchmark adopted by member states in 2021.

“Cataract surgery is one of the most powerful tools we have to restore vision and transform lives,” said Dévora Kestel, Director a.i., WHO Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health.

“When people regain their sight, they regain independence, dignity, and opportunity.”

The study analyzed reports from 68 country estimates for 2023 and 2024, while its broader secondary analysis drew on 233 population-based survey datasets from 68 countries collected between 2003 and 2024.

Researchers used 130 studies to produce 68 country estimates of effective cataract surgical coverage.

The paper found wide disparities between countries.

Coverage estimates ranged from 2.1 percent in Burundi in 2024 to 77.7 percent in Qatar in 2023, with corresponding 95 percent confidence intervals of 0.9–3.4 for Burundi and 72.9–82.5 for Qatar.

The WHO said the African Region faces the widest treatment gap, with three in four people who need cataract surgery still untreated.

The agency also said women are disproportionately affected across all regions and consistently have lower access to care than men.

Those disparities reflect deep structural barriers, the WHO said, including shortages of trained eye-care professionals, unequal distribution of workers, high out-of-pocket costs, long waiting times, and limited awareness or demand for surgery even where services are available.

The WHO’s broader blindness and vision impairment fact sheet says the burden of vision loss is heaviest in low- and middle-income settings, where access and affordability remain persistent obstacles.

The new findings add to a larger global eye-health challenge.

The WHO says at least 2.2 billion people worldwide live with near or distance vision impairment, and at least 1 billion of those cases could have been prevented or have yet to be addressed.

Cataract and refractive errors remain the leading causes of vision impairment and blindness, according to the agency.

The WHO also said age is the main risk factor for cataract, but prolonged UV-B exposure, tobacco use, corticosteroid use, and diabetes can accelerate its development.

In its fact sheet, the agency noted that most people with vision impairment and blindness are older than 50, making population ageing a major driver of future demand for surgery and follow-up eye care.

Researchers identified another quality-of-care issue after surgery.

According to the study abstract, uncorrected refractive error accounted for a median 26.4 percent of non-good outcomes per survey, and treating that problem could produce a median 3.7 percentage-point gain in global effective cataract surgical coverage measured at the 6/12 threshold.

WHO said countries can narrow the gap by integrating vision screening and eye examinations into primary health care, investing in essential surgical infrastructure, and expanding the eye-care workforce in rural and underserved communities.

The agency said targeted efforts focused on women and marginalized groups will be critical if gains in access are to be shared more evenly.

The World Health Assembly endorsed the 2030 eye-care targets in May 2021, setting a 30 percent increase in cataract surgery coverage and a 40 percent increase in refractive error coverage.

WHO said those goals were designed to help countries expand quality eye care while reaching underserved populations more effectively.

WHO is now calling on governments, civil society, and development partners to build on existing momentum and treat cataract surgery as a universally accessible intervention rather than a service still out of reach for millions.

The agency says doing so is essential to reducing avoidable blindness worldwide.