image: Following cataract surgery, an individual in Mozambique, who was not part of the research, gathers cassava she dried to make flour for her food.
Credit: Sightsavers / Mario Macilau
Two studies from rural Mozambique suggest cataract surgery is associated with benefits well beyond restored sight, including gains in quality of life, work participation, food and income security. The findings, from international development organisation Sightsavers, underscore the social and economic value of investing in accessible eye care.
Cataract surgery is one of the most cost-effective medical procedures1, yet cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness2. In Mozambique, cataracts account for nearly half of all avoidable vision impairment3.
The quantitative study, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Africa4, gathered data from over 800 adults before surgery and 12 months later. It found:
- Median quality of life scores increased from 38.5 to 81.
- The proportion of people reporting severe functional difficulties in non-vision domains, such as self-care, decreased by 44.2 percentage points.
- The proportion of people reporting participation in ‘own work’, including farming, increased by 40.7 percentage points.
- The proportion of people reporting food and income insufficiency decreased by 42.3 and 25.8 percentage points respectively.
- The proportion of people reporting internalised and community stigma decreased by 51 and 34.7 percentage points respectively.
A companion qualitative study, published in SSM – Qualitative Research in Health5, explored what recovery means in people’s daily lives. One person who was interviewed told researchers: “After the surgery, I felt reborn; it was as if I had become young again. I returned to working in my fields, and my life gained direction, which is important to me. Now I think I still have many years ahead…I no longer feel dead as I did before the surgery; now I feel alive.”
Dr Stevens Bechange, Global Technical Lead: Health and Disability Research at Sightsavers, and lead author of both studies, says: “Eye care is often a ‘missing’ topic from health and development priorities. But our studies show that cataract surgery is associated with improved daily functioning, renewed confidence and greater economic participation, as well as better vision.”
“We commend existing efforts from governments, donors and others, but much more is needed to make avoidable vision impairment, such as cataracts, truly avoidable. Investing in eye care reduces inequality and poverty. The impact is transformative: more adults at work, greater independence, stronger communities and economies.”
The quantitative study was completed in partnership with Forum das Associações Moçambicanas de Pessoas com Deficiência and Hospital Central de Nampula. An independent consultant and Catholic University of Mozambique supported the qualitative study.
Following the Global Summit for Eye Health earlier this month, the studies are a good reminder of why investing in eye care is so important. The Summit was hosted by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Guyana, Ireland and Nigeria, the World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). Global leaders were asked to act, allocate and accelerate to reach people living with avoidable vision impairment.
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
References
- World Health Organization, 2026, One in two people facing cataract blindness need access to life-changing surgery
- The Lancet Global Health, 2021, The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health: vision beyond 2020
- Ophthalmic Epidemiology, 2021, Changes in Eye Health and Service Coverage in Nampula, Mozambique between 2011 and 2018
- The Lancet Regional Health – Africa, 2026, Changes in quality of life, daily functioning, stigma experiences and economic productivity after cataract surgery among adults with severe vision impairment in rural Mozambique: a prospective cohort study
- SSM – Qualitative Research in Health, 2026, Patient narratives on the lived experiences of physical, psychosocial and economic changes after cataract surgery: a longitudinal qualitative study in rural Mozambique
Research details
Quantitative study:
- Participants were adults aged 20-100 years old from 8 district hospitals in Nampula province, Mozambique, who had operable cataract in at least one eye.
- The study took place from 2023-2024.
- Data was collected through face-to-face questionnaire interviews and vision assessment and looked at: presenting visual acuity; daily functioning; vision-related quality of life; economic participation; food and income sufficiency; internalised and community stigma.
- Information on socio-demographic characteristics included sex, age, marital status, main occupation, religion, frequency of attendance at religious activities was also collected.
- Disability was assessed using the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on disability, for seeing, hearing, walking, communication, remembering / concentrating, self-care.
- Quality of life was measured using the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire, which assessed 11 sub-domains: general health; general vision; ocular pain; near activities; distance activities; social functioning; mental health; role difficulties; dependency; colour vision; peripheral vision.
- Participants’ relative wealth was assessed by questions about sufficiency of food for household, and sufficiency of income.
- Economic productivity was measured using a tool from the Living Standards Measurement Study by the World Bank, which focuses on: Household / family; paid work; work for own use; leisure outside home; leisure inside the home; time spent alone; not engaged in any activity at all.
- Stigmatising attitudes and behaviours were measured using an adapted stigma scale developed by Stangl et al.
Qualitative study:
- The qualitative, longitudinal study took place from 2023-2025.
- Findings are based on 20 people who had baseline and endline data available. Some people didn’t have 6-month data as they were absent due to business, work or subsistence activities.
- 11 men and 9 women were interviewed, who were aged between 44 to 84 years old.
- In-depth interviews were held before cataract surgery and then 6-months and 12-months after.
- In baseline interviews, people were asked about disease history and experiences of living with cataract.
- At follow-up, people were asked about changes in physical health and perception of self; daily activities; performing work and household chores; interactions within family and community; why certain changes were more or less important for them.
For further information, please contact
Jenny Murray-Cox, Senior Media Officer – Eye health and fundraising, Sightsavers
jmurraycox@sightsavers.org / 01444 275150
Media package available
Spokespeople
Stevens Bechange, Global Technical Lead: Health and Disability Research
About Sightsavers
Sightsavers is an international organisation working with governments and partners in more than 30 low and middle income countries across Africa and Asia.
- We tackle avoidable blindness and vision impairment, including cataracts and refractive errors (such as short-sightedness)
- We treat and eliminate neglected tropical diseases
- We support people with disabilities to access health care, education and employment without discrimination
Sightsavers is a registered UK charity (Registered charity numbers 207544 and SC038110).
Find out more at www.sightsavers.org