India has the highest level of blindness
in the world with 15 million blind people, cataract
being the primary cause.
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with a combined population of 305 million, are the most
affected states. Bihar, being one of the poorest Indian states, is the worst hit with
700,000 blind and 4.3 million visually impaired people
(100,000 additional people become blind every year).
The size of the challenge to eradicate curable blindness in Bihar
is enormous as the current capacity to perform eye surgeries
(approx. 141,000 p.a.) is woefully short, is not easily accessible
or affordable for the poor.
The World Health Organisation estimates that between 2010-2020 the cumulative impact of blindness and visual impairment in India is $162 billion.
The Indian Districts with lower levels of social, economic, education and health indicators have the highest incidence of blindness. People with no and low vision are at a significant disadvantage. They suffer from poverty, malnutrition, lack of education opportunities and social isolation. This in turn affects their families and ultimately the community at large.
“Many of the causes of avoidable blindness in low-income countries are directly related to poverty, including hunger, malnutrition and limited access to health, education, water, and sanitation services. These problems are most acute in the least economically developed regions, home to more than 90% of the world’s visually impaired people.”
- WHO & IAPB on Vision 2020
The capacity in Bihar to treat the blind people and those with severely impaired vision is inadequate.
The facilities that are available - are not easily accessible or affordable given the average income levels.
Illiteracy and poverty, a lack of trained personnel (especially in rural areas) and inconsistent medical standards add to the challenges of curing the blindness.
Poor infrastructure means patients cannot easily get to the eye care centres and the eye care providers cannot easily reach the blind in rural areas.
It costs as little as INR 4,000 to restore
someone’s sight and change their life.
100% of your donation
goes to sight restoration surgeries.
Akhand Jyoti Does 93,000+ Sight Restoring Surgeries Per Year
Akhand Jyoti has been relentlessly working over a decade, to help eradicate blindness in low-income states.
Our unique approach has helped underprivileged people to regain their dignity and independence.
We provide sight-restoring surgeries to over 93,000 people annually in some of the most desperate districts in India.
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We reach out to the remotest villages to identify the needy patients for eye care interventions.
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We have set up the first comprehensive eye hospital in rural India.
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There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark
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