Our Cause

Why Blindness?

Eye care is one of the greatest public health challenges for the 21st century.

An estimated 43 million people worldwide suffer from blindness - 80% of this burden is treatable or preventable. For millions of people, HCP can improve their quality of life by restoring or retaining sight.

Without care, blindness dramatically affects individuals, their families and their communities.

• Blind children are more likely to die in childhood than children with good vision, especially in low-income countries.
• Vision loss is linked to social exclusion more broadly, including the experience of negative attitudes, violence and bullying, sexual assault, and loneliness.
• The restoration of sight helps break the cycle of poverty and inequity. Studies show that as many as 90% of blind individuals in poor communities cannot work.
• Sight helps people learn. Children can learn twice as much when they see clearly.