One person goes blind every minute

YOGYAKARTA: At least one person goes blind every minute in the country as a result of cataracts, glaucoma, and retina and cornea disorders, a professor says.

Head of Eye Diseases at Gadjah Mada University's School of Medicine, Soehardjo, said on Saturday that cataracts were the main cause of blindness.

"Most blind people in Indonesia are poor people -- people who are economically weak," Soehardjo said, adding that Indonesians tended to suffer cataracts 15 years earlier on average than people living in sub-tropical countries.

Data from the Sardjito Hospital in Yogyakarta reveals that 20 percent of people with cataracts in 2003 are below 55 years of age and 20 percent between the ages of 21 and 55.

In 2003, the number of people with cataracts was estimated at 15.3 million. -- Antara