Indonesia’s Cataract Issue

North Sumatra, Indonesia, 2012

© Roni Bintang

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians need treatment for sight-threatening cataracts, but less than half can afford to pay for the procedure. These photographs show surgeries provided for free by charity.

In all of Asia, it is estimated that 50% of blindness is caused by cataracts, but in Indonesia, it is 90% or more, according to Indonesian Ophthalmologists’ Society President Istiantoro, of the Jakarta Eye Center. Every minute, one Indonesian loses their sight, making it the highest rate of blindness in Southeast Asia. Source: BIMC Hospital