Our research strategy

The impact of sight loss and blindness

In the UK, today:

• More than 2.5 million people are living with a degree of visual impairment that significantly affects their daily lives.
• Of these, over 350,000 are registered blind.
• The number of partially sighted and blind people is increasing every year and it is set to increase to 3.5 million by 2050.
• The effects of visual impairment and blindness can be profound and far reaching, including negatively impacting an individual’s mental wellbeing and financial independence.
• The economic cost to the state is estimated at over £25 billion a year and it is predicted to rise to over £33 billion by 2050.
• The direct health care system cost is estimated at over £3 billion a year and growing in an already stretched NHS.

Living a full and independent life with sight loss and blindness is easier today than it ever was. Partly, this is made possible by the many and constantly evolving technological advances. 

However, for the most part, it is thanks to the outstanding work of national and local organisations that provide important sight loss support services. 

Resources that help partially sighted and blind people live well right now are crucial and we applaud their work. 

Working in a complementary way to our colleagues in the sight loss support services sector, our mission is to bring forward the day when sight loss and blindness are a thing of the past.

Our research strategy, Every patient matters: turning science into health, outlines how we focus our funding on research that can directly benefit patients, as soon as possible.