‘Increasing burden of cataract surgeries is outpacing treatment capacity’

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan is expected to require nearly 1.84 million cataract surgeries every year by 2030, but the country’s healthcare system remains ill-equipped to meet the growing demand, forcing a large number of patients to depend on charitable organisations and private healthcare providers for treatment.

Head of the Cataract Department at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Prof Dr Sabihuddin Ahmed talking to media said that increasing burden of cataracts is outpacing the country’s treatment capacity.

He said that Al-Shifa Trust currently performs around 60,000 cataract surgeries annually through its network of hospitals and outreach programmes. Despite these efforts, the number of patients requiring surgery continues to rise, creating a significant gap between demand and available services, he said.

Dr Ahmed stressed the need to make eye care an integral part of primary healthcare by introducing routine eye examinations and regular cataract screening, particularly for people living with diabetes. Failure to expand eye care services would result in a steady increase in avoidable blindness across the country, he cautioned.

He said that approximately 570,000 adults in Pakistan have lost their sight because of untreated cataracts, while another 3.56 million are living with varying degrees of cataract-related visual impairment. The situation is expected to worsen as the country’s ageing population continues to grow. The burden of treatment is unevenly distributed. Private hospitals perform 42.4 percent of cataract surgeries, NGOs account for 39.9 percent, and public hospitals only 17.7 percent. As a result, many low-income patients depend on charitable services for treatment.

He said that a shortage of specialists is adding pressure to the system. Pakistan has only 15 ophthalmologists per million people, far below the levels seen in many developed healthcare systems. Al-Shifa Trust trains about 20 ophthalmologists annually, but far more specialists are needed, he said.

Diabetes is also accelerating demand for cataract treatment. Pakistan has 34.5 million adults living with diabetes, a figure projected to rise sharply in the coming decades. Diabetic patients often develop cataracts earlier and require surgery at younger ages.

Cost remains a major barrier to treatment. According to the Pakistan National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey, 76.1 percent of patients identified financial constraints as the main reason for delaying or avoiding surgery.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026