The Blindness Crisis

Most blindness is not fate. It is cataract, uncorrected glasses and untreated disease, and most of it can be cured. What stops people is cost, distance and not knowing where to go.

Good sight and quality life for all

The problem in numbers

2.2 billionpeople worldwide live with some form of vision impairment (WHO)

1 billion+of them have an impairment that could have been prevented or is still untreated (WHO)

1.99%of Indians aged 50 and above are blind (AIIMS national survey, 2015–19)

66.2%of that blindness is caused by cataract, which surgery can fix

Why people stay blind when they don’t have to

India’s national survey found the same barriers again and again. Treatment exists, but many people cannot pay for it, do not know they need it, or live too far from a hospital.

Bihar feels this pressure more than most. It is the third most populous state in the country, with about 880 people per sq km, more than double the national average. That load falls on a health system that is already stretched.

Cost was the reason for 22.1% of blindness cases that went untreated.
Lack of awareness was behind 18.4%, where people did not feel they needed surgery.
Education matters. Blindness is 3.23% among people who cannot read, against 0.43% among those who can.
Rural life matters. Blindness is 2.14% in rural areas against 1.80% in urban areas.

What stands in the way

Eye care for poor and rural communities faces two layers of difficulty: the weaknesses of the wider health system, and the daily pressures on a charity hospital.

In India’s health system

One of the highest disease burdens in the world
Too few doctors and nurses
Low insurance coverage and weak public health systems
Public health spending among the lowest in the world, and the poorest benefit least

For a charity eye hospital

Long-term financial sustainability
Keeping skilled staff in rural areas
Maintaining high-quality service
Helping patients overcome barriers to reaching care

For the families affected

Surgery they cannot afford
Clinics too far to reach
Little information about free or low-cost treatment
Diabetes and childhood eye problems caught too late

How Netrika is responding

Netrika Foundation was registered in March 2022 under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. Its flagship, Netrika Eye Care Hospital in Motihari, was set up by Dr. Kamlesh Kumar to bring affordable eye care to people who have none. Paying patients help support those who cannot pay, and the hospital serves both under one roof.

Cataract surgeryAdvanced PHACO machine for safer cataract removal
Glaucoma managementDiagnosis and treatment to control eye pressure
Diabetic eye careRetinopathy check-ups and awareness camps
Children’s eye carePediatric ophthalmology, squint therapy and school screening camps
Vision centresSmall local centres for primary eye care that feed the main hospital
Outreach and awarenessFree camps in villages and slums, plus corporate, school and community sessions

Nearly 50,000 patients

served in the last four-plus years, of whom almost 11,000 received all services free or at highly subsidised rates.

Netrika works on four principles: take eye care to the patient’s doorstep, serve everyone regardless of caste, colour or creed, treat every person with dignity, and offer preventive, curative and rehabilitative care together. Its team includes doctors from AIIMS, and the foundation works with partners such as Rotary Club and Lions Club and with local government departments.

Help us end avoidable blindness

A cataract operation can give someone back their sight, their work and their independence. Book an eye check-up, or support a patient who cannot pay.

Book Your Appointment Email the Foundation

Opp-Rahmania Hospital, Block Road, Bhawanipur Zirat, Motihari, Bihar 845401