How RAAB data is used

How RAAB data is used

Local and national planning 

The primary use of Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) data is to inform local and national planning of eye health services. By assessing need within an area, service providers can appropriately distribute care and plan strategic programmes to improve eye health. Estimates can be used to shape and prioritise policy, reducing avoidable sight loss. 

Global estimates 

Data from RAAB surveys are also vital to generate global eye health estimates and monitor progress towards universal health coverage. RAAB data significantly contribute to the vision loss estimates calculated by the Vision Loss Expert Group for the Global Burden of Diseases Study that populate the IAPB Vision Atlas. These data have been used to influence global practice and policy, including contributing to the first United Nations resolution to tackle preventable sight loss.

This website

This site acts as a repository to bring together all available RAAB data in one place for the collective benefit of the global eye health community, with features including country profiles and map to help users effectively engage with the data. As a minimum, it presents metadata for all known RAAB surveys.

At their discretion, survey Principal Investigators (PIs) can also give permission to make survey outputs openly available, contributing to future global estimates and providing a wealth of valuable information for secondary analysis to support the sector.

As the breadth of available survey data increases, it will be possible to further analyse trends across time and in different geographical regions and to identify evidence gaps. 

PIs who make their data available on this site are invited to join an International RAAB Studies Authorship Group.

If you are the Principal Investigator (PI) of a completed RAAB survey not listed on this site, you can get in touch to provide us with more information. If you are the PI of a completed RAAB already listed, and wish to update the team with more information about the survey or contribute the survey data and join the Authorship Group, please get in touch.

To find out more about how RAAB survey data is collected and managed,  please visit our data security and protection pages.

Crop of a world map showing countries where RAAB surveys have taken place

Section of world map showing locations where RAAB surveys have been completed.