Ghana Blindness and Visual Impairment Study

Significant progress has been made in avoiding blindness and visual impairment, particularly from infectious diseases. However, visual impairment remains a major global health issue with about 285 million visually impaired (39 million blind and 246 million having low vision) (WHO Fact Sheet No. 282). Though visual impairment is a debilitating condition, there are limited country-specific estimates. In Africa, few studies on blindness and visual impairment have been conducted, with only one from Ghana. However, these studies were not detailed and nationally representative. The very expensive and time-consuming nature of national blindness and low vision surveys probably explains their rarity in many African countries.