Why Do More Women Than Men Go Blind Around the World?

Globally, 1.1 billion people live with vision loss, including blindness. More than half of them are women and girls, that’s 112 million more women than men living with sight loss.

Why Is Vision Loss a Gender Issue?

In many communities, gender inequality creates major barriers to eye care:

Cost: Women often have less control over family finances. That can mean no money for healthcare or even the transport needed to reach it.

Travel limitations: Many women, especially older women, rely on others to get around. When help isn’t available, care stays out of reach.

Lack of information: In places where female literacy is low, women may not even know that treatment exists or how to get it.

The result? Millions of women and girls living in darkness when they don’t have to.

Imagine not being able to see your child’s face, read a schoolbook, or get to work safely. Vision loss is taking away chances to learn, earn and live independently and women and girls are hit hardest. This World Population Day let’s act to fix the inequalities keeping millions of women in the dark.

Donate today to save sight

Fight for a Girls’ Right to Sight

The Power of Eye Care

Restoring sight does more than help someone see, it restores freedom, opportunity, and dignity.

A girl who can see the blackboard has a better chance of staying in school and escaping poverty.

A mother who can work supports her family and contributes to her community.

A grandmother who regains her sight becomes less dependent — and more connected to the world around her.

Eye care changes lives. When we remove the barriers that stop women from getting the treatment they need, we open the door to education, independence, and opportunity, not just for them, but for their families and communities too.

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What We're Doing and How You Can Help

At Orbis, we’re working every day to close the gender gap in eye care. Through long-term programmes in countries where access is limited, our Flying Eye Hospital, and online training through Cybersight, we’re reaching women and girls who need help the most.

But we can’t do it alone.

This World Population Day don’t look away. Donate today to help women and girls around the world see a brighter future.