285 million
Number of people in the world living with sight loss.

3 trillion (USD)
Real financial cost of visual impairment worldwide in 2010.

5 seconds
Every 5 seconds, a person in the world goes blind.

Visual impairment is a significant health problem across the globe. Although 80% of visual impairment is preventable, for the 40 million blind people across the globe, prevention is no longer the cure (World Health Organization, 2002).

The financial cost in New Zealand itself amounts up to $2.8 billion, or $22,217 per person with vision loss aged over 40 (RNZFB, 2009). Wellbeing, healthcare, productivity and deadweight losses are part of the economic cost for vision loss.

With the loss of sight, many people have to accommodate for a significant change of lifestyle. Compared to people who are sighted, people with vision loss experience:

• A reduced quality of life
• Greater difficulty with daily living
• Social dependence
• Higher rates of clinical depression
• Twice the risk of premature death
• An increased risk of falls and related hip fractures
• Premature admission to nursing homes