Indian Journal of Ophthalmology (Jan 2012)
The global cost of eliminating avoidable blindness
- Kirsten L Armstrong,
- Martin Jovic,
- Jennifer L Vo-Phuoc,
- Jeremy G Thorpe,
- Brian L Doolan
Affiliations
- Kirsten L Armstrong
- Martin Jovic
- Jennifer L Vo-Phuoc
- Jeremy G Thorpe
- Brian L Doolan
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.4103/0301-4738.100554
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 60,
no. 5
pp. 475 – 480
Abstract
Aims : To complete an initial estimate of the global cost of eliminating avoidable blindness, including the investment required to build ongoing primary and secondary health care systems, as well as to eliminate the ′backlog′ of avoidable blindness. This analysis also seeks to understand and articulate where key data limitations lie. Materials and Methods : Data were collected in line with a global estimation approach, including separate costing frameworks for the primary and secondary care sectors, and the treatment of backlog. Results : The global direct health cost to eliminate avoidable blindness over a 10-year period from 2011 to 2020 is estimated at $632 billion per year (2009 US$). As countries already spend $592 billion per annum on eye health, this represents additional investment of $397.8 billion over 10 years, which is $40 billion per year or $5.80 per person for each year between 2010 and 2020. This is concentrated in high-income nations, which require 68% of the investment but comprise 16% of the world′s inhabitants. For all other regions, the additional investment required is $127 billion. Conclusions : This costing estimate has identified that low- and middle-income countries require less than half the additional investment compared with high-income nations. Low- and middle-income countries comprise the greater investment proportion in secondary care whereas high-income countries require the majority of investment into the primary sector. However, there is a need to improve sector data. Investment in better data will have positive flow-on effects for the eye health sector.
Keywords
- Diabetes-related blindness
- diabetic retinopathy
- key informant
- rapid assessment of avoidable blindness
- retinopathy of prematurity
- tele-ophthalmology
- Blindness
- disability
- equity
- health economics
- health policy
- health and development
- social exclusion
- Community eye health
- prevention of blindness
- ophthalmogical residency
- VISION 2020
- Visual impairment
- blindness
- inequality
- social class
- income
- educational status
- gender and ethnic groups
- Advocacy
- effective service delivery
- enabling environment
- stakeholders
- resources
- Avoidable blindness and visual impairment
- impact
- scaling up
- VISION 2020
- Global blindness
- prevalence
- visual impairment
- visual acuity
- Comprehensive eye care
- eye care model
- pyramidal model
- Comprehensive eye care
- optometrist
- optometry regulation
- eye health
- India
- Economics
- blindness
- visual impairment
- market
- government
- cost
- Millennium development goals
- eye health
- Vision 2020 the Right to Sight
- Blindness
- eye care services
- planning rapid assessment methods
- visual impairment
- Avoidable blindness
- cataract surgical rate
- corneal blindness
- eye care services
- Compliance
- diabetic retinopathy
- services
- Human resource development
- service delivery
- social entrepreneurship
- uncorrected refractive error
- Blindness
- cataract extraction
- cataract
- coverage
- data aggregation
- population
- prevalence
- visual impairment
- Case detection
- comprehensive eye examination
- developing countries
- glaucoma
- integrated approach
- training requirements
- Child health policy
- childhood blindness
- social determinants of eye health
- Access
- Asia-pacific
- coverage
- funding
- low vision
- policy
- Funding
- vision research priorities
- peer review
- research
- Cataract surgery
- clinical outcome
- patient-reported outcome
- quality improvement
- quality
- Global eye health
- health interventions
- health systems
- systems thinking
- Avoidable blindness
- global cost
- health investment
- primary and secondary health
- visual impairment