Cambodia

Blindness in Cambodia

Cambodia is located in Southeast Asia, bordering Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Much of Cambodia’s medical infrastructure was destroyed during the devastating rule of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. In the years that followed, Cambodia, in conjunction with international NGOs, worked to rebuild and provide medical care throughout the country.

According to the National Library of Medicine and IAPB Vision Atlas, there are only 71 ophthalmologists for a population of over 17 million, leaving over 180,000 people who are completely blind. Additionally, another 10,000 suffer from avoidable blindness each year.

Cambodians over the age of 50 are especially likely to be blind. The prevalence of blindness in that segment of the population is as high as 2.5 percent, compared with 0.37 percent in the general population. The leading cause of blindness in the country is cataracts, which are preventable and easily reversible with a low-cost, thirty-minute surgery.