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New research · Ophthalmology
Ophthalmic epidemiology · 23h
Meta-analysisOphthalmic epidemiology · 2026

Prevalence and Causes of Visual Impairment and Blindness in Ghana: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Randy Asiamah, Pious Tawiah Amoako, Michael Agyemang Kwarteng … Samuel Kyei
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OphthalmologyMeta-analysis

Nearly 6% of people in Ghana have visual impairment, pooled analysis finds

Prevalence and Causes of Visual Impairment and Blindness in Ghana: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Randy Asiamah … Samuel Kyei
Ophthalmic epidemiology · 2026
Purpose

To determine the prevalence and causes of visual impairment (visual impairment) and blindness in Ghana.

Methods

A systematic review of studies reporting the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness in Ghana was performed after perusal of three electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science.

n = 27,920 individuals
Results

roughly 1 in 17 people had reduced vision on eye exams

Prevalence 5.79 (95% CI 3.25 to 10.12)
null 0
3.25
10.12
CI excludes the null - significant
More results

Visual impairment prevalence was higher in rural than urban settings and higher among women and older adults.

Refractive errors were the leading cause of visual impairment, accounting for 2.00% of all visual impairment cases (95% CI 0.98% to 4.06%; I 2 = 91.7).

More results

The pooled prevalence of blindness was 0.25% (95% CI 0.04% to 1.43%; 95% PI 0.00 to 49.77%; I 2 = 93.3), with cataracts the most common cause of blindness (0.79% of blindness cases; 95% CI 0.39% to 1.57%; I 2 = 95.3).

“
Conclusion · 1 of 3

Visual impairment and blindness are prevalent in Ghana.

Conclusion · 2 of 3

The high burden, particularly in rural areas, older adults, and women, underscores the need for strengthened primary eye care, expanded cataract surgical services, and targeted interventions to reduce avoidable vision loss in Ghana.

Conclusion · 3 of 3

Strengthening primary eye care and targeted outreach are essential for reducing avoidable vision loss.

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