Changes in the prevalence, causes of visual impairment and cataract service coverage in Karamoja, Uganda, between 2015 and 2023: findings from two cross-sectional surveys
Summary
Two surveys were carried out in the Karamoja region of Uganda in 2015 and 2023 to understand how common blindness and visual impairment are, what causes them and how well cataract services are reaching people. The surveys focused on adults aged 50 and over and used the same standard methods in both years so results could be compared.
Fewer people were blind in 2023 than in 2015 (4.9% compared with 6.0%). Access to cataract surgery improved over time, with many more people receiving surgery in 2023. However, when looking at how successful these operations were in restoring good vision, results were still poor overall.
Women were consistently less likely than men to receive effective cataract surgery, and this gap increased over time. Although cataract services expanded, the quality of results and fairness of access did not improve enough.
These findings show that more targeted efforts are needed to improve vision after surgery and to make sure women and people with moderate vision loss can access high‑quality cataract care.