---
title: The Bottleneck in Global Retina Care Is the Number of Trained Surgeons
description: Aravind and Alcon have opened a vitreoretinal surgery training centre in Coimbatore, aimed at the shortage of surgeons trained to operate on the retina.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-07-26T17:21:37.868Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/retina-care-bottleneck-trained-surgeons-aravind-alcon
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/aravind-alcon-retina-training-centre-36458.webp
categories: Science & Tech
content_type: News
region: Global
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

At least 2.2 billion people worldwide have a near or distance vision impairment, and [one in two people who need cataract surgery cannot get it](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment), according to the World Health Organization. Aravind Eye Care System and Alcon have opened a surgical training centre in Coimbatore, in southern India, aimed at a narrower shortage: the number of surgeons trained to operate on the retina.

The two organisations say cataract care has scaled effectively while retina care has not, and that the constraint is the supply of trained specialists, most acutely across Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia. Diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration both sit on the World Health Organization's list of leading causes of vision impairment and blindness, alongside refractive errors, cataract and glaucoma.

The Aravind Alcon Global Centre of Excellence for Vitreoretinal Surgery Training is the second phase of a partnership that opened a Global Cataract Centre of Excellence in 2024. It will take approximately 60 participants a year to begin with, and extend its reach through virtual fellowship programmes.

## What Aravind Already Proved at Scale

Aravind is the institution that made high-volume cataract surgery work in a low-income setting. Dr Venkataswamy set it up in 1976 under the GOVEL Trust, having retired at 58, starting with an eleven-bed hospital and four medical officers. It now runs 15 eye hospitals, eight outpatient eye examination centres and 118 primary eye care facilities across South India, together with a postgraduate institute, a research institute, an ophthalmic manufacturing unit and eye banks.

More than 720,000 eye surgeries or procedures are performed there each year, which Aravind says makes it the largest eye care provider in the world. It has handled more than 90 million outpatient visits and performed more than 10.8 million surgeries since it opened. Half of its patients are treated free of charge or at steeply subsidised rates, and the organisation remains financially self-sustaining.

## Why Retina Training Moves Slower

Aravind and Alcon say the shortage in retina care is a shortage of trained people rather than of demand, and the centre is arranged accordingly, around a wet laboratory for hands-on surgical practice and virtual fellowships that carry the teaching beyond the building. Dr Narendran, chief medical officer of Aravind Eye Hospital in Coimbatore, says the site is now home to India's first global centre of excellence in retina, and that retinal disease is an increasingly common cause of vision loss in India and worldwide.

> "The center provides the next generation of ophthalmologists with a structured, hands-on pathway to master complex procedures with precision and confidence."
> — Dr Narendran, Chief Medical Officer, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore

Alcon makes surgical and vision care products, which it says reach more than 260 million people in over 140 countries each year, and employs more than 25,000 people. Raj Narayanan, its senior vice president and president international, says the two organisations have worked together for more than two decades on surgical education.

## The Size of the Gap

Of the 2.2 billion people living with a vision impairment, the World Health Organization estimates that at least a billion have a condition that could have been prevented or is still waiting to be addressed, and puts the annual global cost in lost productivity at $411 billion. Two out of three people in low-income countries who need spectacles do not have them.

The mix of underlying conditions differs by country income. Unoperated cataract accounts for a larger share of vision impairment in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income ones, where glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration are more common. Among children, retinopathy of prematurity is a more likely cause in middle-income countries. Narendran says the need for skilled retinal surgeons continues to grow.

More about Aravind Eye Care System at [aravind.org](https://aravind.org/our-story/)

## FAQ

**Q: Which is the leading cause of blindness worldwide?**
The World Health Organization lists refractive errors and cataract as the leading causes of vision impairment and blindness, with diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration also among the leading causes. The balance shifts by country income, with unoperated cataract accounting for more of the burden in low- and middle-income countries.

**Q: Which is the largest eye care system in the world?**
Aravind Eye Care System describes itself as the largest eye care provider in the world. It performs more than 720,000 eye surgeries or procedures a year and has handled more than 90 million outpatient visits since it opened in 1976.

**Q: Why are there so few retina surgeons?**
Aravind and Alcon say training capacity is the limiting factor rather than demand, and that the shortage of surgeons able to perform complex vitreoretinal procedures is most acute across Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia.