Archive · 7 Nov 2025
India's Ophthalmologist Distribution Uneven, Lacks Key Infrastructure: AIIMS Study
Imagine if you needed a special eye doctor, but they were all in just a few big cities and very few in the countryside.
That's what a new study in India found about eye doctors called ophthalmologists.
There are enough eye doctors in total, but they aren't spread out evenly.
Some places have way too many, and other places, especially rural areas, have very few.
This means it's harder for people in those areas to get eye check-ups or special eye surgeries.
Also, not many hospitals are open 24 hours for eye emergencies or have special equipment to store eye parts for transplants.
Most eye clinics are run by private companies, and they tend to offer more advanced services.
The study suggests working together – government, private doctors, and helpers – to make sure everyone can get good eye care, no matter where they live.
India has one ophthalmologist for every 65,221 people, far below the target for eliminating avoidable blindness.
The distribution of eye care professionals is highly uneven across India, with severe shortages in some states and a surplus in others.
Private institutions constitute the majority (70.6%) of eye care institutes, offering more advanced services compared to public and NGO sectors.
Infrastructure for eye care is lacking, with only 40.5% of institutes offering 24-hour emergency services and a very low percentage having functional eye banks.
The study emphasizes the need for better resource distribution and infrastructure development, particularly in underserved regions, and greater collaboration for achieving universal eye care coverage.
- Who
- AIIMS Delhi survey led by Dr. Praveen Vashist
- What
- A national survey on ophthalmology resources and infrastructure in India, highlighting significant imbalances and gaps.
- When
- The study was published in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology on October 29, assessing progress towards Vision 2020 goals.
- Where
- India, with variations noted across states (e.g., better in South and West India, shortage in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal) and Union Territories (e.g., Delhi NCR).
- Why
- To determine the human resources and infrastructure for ophthalmic services and assess achievements against Vision 2020 targets for eliminating avoidable blindness.
Private Sector Dominance
Public and NGO Sector Contribution
Service Prioritization
Private Sector Dominance
The private sector prioritizes financially lucrative services like refractive surgeries and offers a higher proportion of sub-specialties.
Public and NGO Sector Contribution
The public and NGO sectors are more involved in charitable services such as eye banking.
Infrastructure and Services
Private Sector Dominance
The private sector reports a significantly higher proportion of institutes with 24-hour eye emergency facilities, functional eye Operation Theatres, refractive eye surgeries, and low-vision services.
Public and NGO Sector Contribution
While the public and NGO sectors offer some services, the availability is notably lower compared to the private sector, with minimal gaps only in eye banking services.
- Ophthalmologists per million population
- 15
- Ophthalmologists per population
- 1 per 65,221
- Total ophthalmologists (secondary/tertiary)
- 20,944
- Total optometrists (secondary/tertiary)
- 17,849
- Optometrist-to-ophthalmologist ratio
- 0.85
- Eye institutes per population
- 1 per 1,64,536
- Institutes offering 24-hour emergency services
- 40.5%
- Institutes with functional eye OTs
- 87.0%
- Institutes with eye banks
- 5.7%
- Eye beds per million population
- 74
