Cataract Blindness: Poverty and Fear Leave Thousands Without Treatment in Niger

In Mariga, Niger State, 40-year-old Asabe Mahmud regained her sight after cataract surgery enabled by a government intervention on October 8; her daughter Maryam, who has been out of school for two years, is now hoping to return. Ophthalmologist Halima Isah Umar estimates that about 14,000 people in the state are blind from untreated cataracts, with roughly 5,000 new cases emerging each year. Treatment costs, long journeys to health facilities and fear of surgery keep many patients from getting care. Nationwide, Nigeria’s eye health plan estimates that more than two million people need cataract surgery, over 70 per cent of them in rural areas.