Nepal has disseminated nationwide RAAB survey results

The Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal recently disseminated nationwide RAAB survey results in December 2024.  

The survey was carried out using seven sampling frames aimed at generalizing the results for each province’s population and weightage average in the same way as national data.  Thirty-three thousand two hundred twenty-eight individuals were enrolled, of whom 32,565 were examined (response rate 98%). Females (n=17,935) made up 55% of the sample.   

The age-sex province-weighted national prevalence of blindness (better eye PVA <3/60) was 1.1% (95% CI: 1.0-1.2%), and any vision impairment <6/12 was 20.7% (95% CI: 19.9-21.5%). The prevalence of blindness and any vision impairment were higher in women than men (1.3% 95% CI: 1.1-1.5%) vs 0.9% (95% CI: 0.7-1.0%). Age-sex weighted blindness prevalence was highest in Lumbini Province (1.8% 95% CI: 1.3-2.2%) and lowest in Bagmati Province (0.7% 95% CI: 0.4-0.9%) and Sudurpashchim Province (0.7% 95% CI: Cataract (65.2%) was the leading cause of blindness in the sample, followed by corneal opacity (6.4%), glaucoma (5.8%) and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) (5.3%). Other posterior segment diseases accounted for 8.4% of cases. The CSC in Nepal for the total population 50 years and older was 82.7% (95% CI: 80.8 – 84.4%) among the VA cut off <6/60 due to cataract, similar in both genders, Sudurpashchim (92.2%) had the highest CSC followed by Bagmati (90.7%), while densely populated Madhesh (77.6%) and Lumbini province (75.4%) had least. Need not felt (33%), cost (30.4%), inability to access treatment (13%), and fear (12.3%) were the main barriers to accessing cataract surgical services.  

The prevalence of blindness in 2021 has decreased to 1.05% from 2.5% among the 50 and older population of Nepal compared to the nationwide RAAB survey in 2010. The extrapolated prevalence for all ages was estimated at 0.35% in 2010 and 0.28% in 2021. The Lumbini and Madesh Provinces had a higher prevalence of blindness compared to the other provinces. Cataract was the still leading cause of blindness, severe vision impairment (SVI), and moderate vision impairment (MVI), while refractive error was the leading cause of mild vision impairment. Based on the World Health Assembly (WHA) endorsed indicator and set a global target for 2030 (visual acuity cut off 6/12), the eCSC was found to be 35.4%. 

The detailed report can be found below:

https://mohp.gov.np/resources/reports-surveys-and-findings/en