Facts and figures

Eye health

Prevalence of blindness in people aged 50 years and over: 2.8%
Percentage of blindness considered to be avoidable: 90.2%
Main causes of blindness: Cataract (74.7%)
Number of Ophthalmologists: 9
Reasons for low cataract surgical rates and backlog: Lack of access to eye care services, cost of surgery, shortage of human resources, poor infrastructure and limited awareness.

Sources - Human Development Report 2007, UNDP World Health Organization

General health

Population: 14 million
Urban population: 19.7%
Life expectancy: 58 years
Literacy rate: 73.6%
Percentage of population living on less than $2 a day: 77.7%
Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 births): 98
Percentage of population which is undernourished: 33%
Number of doctors (per 100,000 people): 16

Source: Human Development Report 2007, UNDP

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