Key Takeaways
- Global effective cataract surgical coverage is projected to rise only modestly by 2030, falling well short of the World Health Assembly target.
- eCSC varies widely across countries, from just over 2% in some settings to nearly 78% in others.
- Uncorrected refractive error is a major contributor to poor postoperative outcomes and represents a key opportunity to improve results.
A new analysis of population-based surveys from 68 countries shows that global progress in effective cataract surgical coverage (eCSC) is not on track to meet the target set by the 74th World Health Assembly.
Researchers reviewed 233 datasets collected between 2003 and 2024, primarily from Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness surveys, to estimate eCSC among adults aged 50 years and older. Country-level eCSC6/18 ranged from 2.1% in Burundi (2024) to 77.7% in Qatar (2023).
Globally, eCSC6/18 is predicted to reach 48.2% in 2025. From 2020 to 2030, coverage is projected to increase by 8.4 percentage points, from 43.9% to 52.3%, far below the 30-point global target.
Uncorrected refractive error accounted for a median 26.4% of non-good surgical outcomes. Correcting these errors could yield a median 3.7 percentage-point gain in eCSC6/12 worldwide.
Reference
McCormick I, Ouchtar Y, Macleod D, et al; eCSC Study Group. Effective cataract surgical coverage in adults aged 50 years and older: empirical estimates from population-based surveys in 68 countries and modelled estimates for 2000-30. Lancet Glob Health. 2026 Feb 10:S2214-109X(25)00435-8. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(25)00435-8. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41687671.
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