Cataract Surgery

In countries around the world with poverty-stricken communities, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness. As the world’s population continues to age, cataracts are a more prevalent issue and pose a major challenge for impoverished communities.

A cataract is a gradual clouding of the lens of the eye, which culminates in blindness. The disease is more often age-related; however children can be born with the condition, particularly in developing countries. The World Health Organisation cites inflammation, an eye injury, glaucoma, diabetes, tobacco use and more as potential causes of the disease.

For communities struggling with poverty, blindness can have a detrimental effect on the ability to break free from the poverty cycle, as blindness destroys livelihoods. Livelihoods are life sustaining and provide a means of dignity for those struggling with poverty. Without the ability to earn, a multitude of tragedies can unfold in a short amount of time, lessening the opportunities for a brighter future.

Without the means to afford medical care, many have no choice but to succumb to the disease.

Tragically, in more remote or hard to reach areas, where treatment for cataracts is not easily accessible, the disease is particularly debilitating, trapping many in the poverty cycle as a result. 

However, cataracts are reversible with the right treatment. Restoring sight can be as simple as providing life-changing cataract surgery to vulnerable people.

Islamic Relief is on the ground in countries such as Niger, providing cataract surgery to those in need. Cataract surgery can restore vision, but in rural areas there are barriers like cost and access to healthcare. Islamic Relief continues its mission to provide healthcare by providing mobile health clinics to reach rural communities in need.  

By offering this surgery to those in need we are helping them change their lives and overcome an otherwise lifelong disability.

Learn more about the work we do to provide healthcare to people in need worldwide.

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