Devex: Progress on ending leading cause of blindness at near standstill, report says
“The past 30 years have seen little to no reduction in the leading cause of blindness among people aged 50 and over in developing regions, data published Thursday in The Lancet reveals. The research, conducted by the Vision Loss Expert Group, shows that the global level of blindness caused by cataracts in adults over age 50 has remained almost unchanged, declining only slightly from 36.7 percent in 1990 to 35.1 percent in 2015, with a further decline to 34.7 percent predicted by 2020. While it is the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in developing countries, the disease is both preventable and curable…” (Anders, 10/12).

Devex: New innovative finance tools aim to boost eye health care
“…Two new mechanisms, one launched last week, and the other a few months ago, are aiming to test whether development impact bonds and a private investor funded holding company can help bring an injection of capital and new partners to address the dearth of eye care in many places around the world…” (Saldinger, 10/12).