The Dominican Republic

Blindness in The Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. The country sustains one of the fastest-growing economies in the Americas; the number of Dominicans living in poverty has declined by 6% in a span of just two years. However, the country spends far less of its GDP on health (1.6%), compared to the regional average (4.5%). Consequently, in the Dominican Republic, an estimated 50,000 people are living with blindness, based on Vision Atlas–aligned global burden of disease modeling. Most cases are preventable or treatable with timely care.