The World Health Organization (WHO) invites Member States, stakeholders and the public to comment on the consultation draft of the Discussion paper: Global initiative to eliminate cataract-related blindness and vision impairment.
In 2021, the Seventy-Fourth World Health Assembly endorsed the global 2030 target of a 30-percentage point increase in effective cataract surgery coverage. The proposed global initiative aims to provide a clear framework for Member States to accelerate progress towards the global target and eliminate cataract-related blindness and vision impairment as a public health problem. It is intended to provide comprehensive, context-sensitive guidance to support decision-making and implementation across diverse national and health system contexts.
Globally, more than half of the people who need cataract surgery globally do not have access to it. In the African Region, the situation is even more severe, with three in four people who need surgery remaining untreated. As a result, an estimated 100 million adults aged 50 years and older have vision impairment or blindness due to untreated cataract. Cataract surgery is one of the most effective and affordable medical interventions, with the potential to restore sight rapidly and sustainably. Yet, at current rates of surgery in many low- and middle-income countries, most people with vision impairment or blindness due to cataract are unlikely to receive this simple, sight-restoring intervention during their lifetime.
The consultation draft, currently available in English, sets out the proposed initiative across nine chapters (40 pages) covering the objectives and milestones; the global indicator and target; the strategy and technical package; and the country-level phases of implementation and surveillance. The initiative is designed to be applicable across diverse national contexts, with particular attention to feasibility in contexts and settings with different levels of income, resources and health system development.
WHO invites Member States, policymakers, eye care services planners and managers, eye care service providers, nongovernmental organizations, academic and research institutions, development agencies, UN entities, people with lived experience and other interested stakeholders to review the consultation draft and provide their views.
How to provide comments
The consultation will remain open until 11:59 PM on 2 October 2026 (CET).
Input can be provided through the following online questionnaire:
Please note that the consultation draft is an unedited and unformatted version shared solely for consultation purposes and is not intended for citation. The final version will undergo full language editing. Respondents are kindly requested not to comment on language unless a term is perceived to have substantive ethical, technical or cultural significance.
All feedback will be carefully reviewed and considered by WHO and used to inform the revision of the Discussion paper prior to its finalization and official publication. A summary of the key themes and feedback received, together with anonymized information on respondent demographics and stakeholder group representation, may be published separately on the WHO webpage.
For further information, please contact vision@who.int.