Apr 1976๐ Backgroundtap to expand
National Programme for Control of Blindness launched
India launches NPCB, the world's first national blindness control programme, focused on tackling cataract through mass surgical camps.
HealthOngoing๐
Timeline
India's cataract blindness crisis: 8 million blind, camp surgery, and the world's best system
India has 8 million blind people, more than any country. Cataract causes 66 percent of India's blindness. Yet India also runs the world's highest-volume, most cost-effective cataract surgery.
๐ง
Audio version coming soon
Published 2 days agoยท0 updatesยท3,203 readers
0
โก
India's blindness story at a glance
India carries the world's largest absolute burden of blindness and visual impairment. The National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey 2015 to 2019 estimated about 4.95 million blind people aged 50 and above and a total of 14 million people with moderate or worse visual impairment in that age group alone. Cataract drives 66.2 percent of blindness, followed by uncorrected refractive error and glaucoma. At the same time, India runs the world's largest cataract surgery programme. The National Programme for Control of Blindness performs over 65 lakh free cataract surgeries a year and Aravind Eye Care alone operates close to 5 lakh cataracts a year at one-tenth the cost of a Western hospital. The next chapter is harder. Diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and the rising childhood myopia tide demand a different kind of system, one that screens, follows up and counsels rather than only operates.
๐
Why India fights so many cataracts
Cataract dominates Indian blindness for a mix of biological, social and system reasons. High lifetime ultraviolet exposure across north and central India, common nutritional deficiencies in childhood and adulthood, and a large diabetic population all speed up cataract formation by a decade compared with northern European populations. Cataract incidence is also unmasked by demography, since the over-50 population has crossed 30 crore. Yet biology is only half the story. Three system features explain why so many people who could see again remain blind. Outreach gaps mean many cataract patients in tribal and remote areas never reach a screening camp. Out-of-pocket cost still deters older women, particularly widows. And quality concerns push some patients to delay surgery until vision is almost gone. Aravind and LV Prasad have shown that high-volume, high-quality, cross-subsidised surgery at scale can deliver world-class outcomes, but the wider public network is still uneven across states.
More in Health
Unread picks stay on top. Fresh stories may appear as they are ready โ no extra loading.
Unread๐ง Health๐
Timeline
India's childhood obesity crisis: 12 million children now obese, schools feeding the problem
India now has 12 million obese children under 19, according to ICMR data. School canteens sell junk food while ultra-processed food advertising targets children.
Unread๐ง Health๐
Timeline
India's blood donation crisis: 4 million units short and getting worse
India collects only 11 million units of blood annually against a need of 15 million. The O-negative shortage is acute, urban blood banks run on single-day reserves, and the rural gap is catastrophic.
Unread๐ง Health๐
Timeline
India has 400 sports medicine specialists for 1.4 billion people
India has fewer sports medicine doctors than many US college programs. Cricket and marathons grew fast; specialist care did not, so preventable injuries end careers early.
Unread๐ง Health๐
Timeline
Indian pharma is breaking into Big Pharma's biologics market
Biosimilars โ cheaper copies of complex biological drugs โ are worth 50 billion globally. Indian companies are racing to capture that market, threatening to cut the price of cancer and.
Unread๐ง Health๐
Timeline
India's hidden hunger hits all income levels: B12, iron, vitamin D
Micronutrient gaps hit rich and poor: anaemia stays high, vegetarians often lack B12, and urban adults lack vitamin D. Fortification and better diets can bend the curve if delivery improves.
Unread๐ง Health๐
Timeline
127 essential medicines are missing from India's government hospitals
127 essential medicines are out of stock in government hospitals across 12 states. The shortage hits insulin, antibiotics and cancer drugs. Central procurement failure exposes PM Jan Aushadhi gaps.