AIM To assess the distribution and causes of corneal blindness in a population in southern India. METHODS A total of 11 786 people of all ages from 94 clusters representative of the population of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh were sampled using a stratified, random, cluster, systematic sampling strategy. These participants underwent a detailed interview and eye examination including meas...

OBJECTIVE Describe the rationale and methodology of the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness applied in surveys at the national level in 2011-2013 in Argentina, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. METHODS The survey includes individuals aged 50 years and older, minimizing required sample sizes, which vary from 2 000 to 5 000 people. It uses straightforward sampling and examin...

PURPOSE To estimate the prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment (VI), and report the outcomes of cataract surgery in Chaonan Region, Guangdong Province, southern China. DESIGN Cross-sectional population-based survey. PARTICIPANTS A total of 3484 participants including 1397 men (40.1%) and 2087 women (59.9%) aged ≥50 years were examined (94.2% response rate). METHOD A two-...

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization estimates that there were 37 million blind people in 2002 and that the prevalence of blindness was 9% among adults in Africa aged 50 years or older. Recent surveys indicate that this figure may be overestimated, while a survey from southern Sudan suggested that postconflict areas are particularly vulnerable to blindness. The aim of this study was to cond...

The purpose of this article is to highlight the challenge of uncorrected refractive error globally, as well as to discuss recent advocacy successes and innovative programs designed to address the need for broader refractive error service development, particularly in developing countries. The World Health Organization's VISION 2020: The Right to Sight program first posed the challenge to nationa...

AIM To conduct a rapid assessment of cataract surgical services to estimate the prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment in members of the population aged >/=40 years in the Limbe urban area, Cameroon. METHODS Clusters of 50 people aged >/=40 years were sampled with probability proportionate to size. Compact segment sampling was used to select households within clusters. All e...

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment (VI), their associated causes and underlying risk factors in three tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh, India and compare this data in conjunction with data from other countries with low and middle income settings. METHODS Using a validated Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness methodology, a two stage sampling survey was perf...