Objective: This study aims to describe the epidemiology and management of blindness and visual impairment (VI) in Togo in order to plan appropriate interventions.

Patients and Methods: This was a standardized prospective descriptive cross-sectional cluster survey based on population size conducted in September and November 2024 following the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) version 7 methodology. Each person aged 50 years and above who gave consent underwent a brief ophthalmic examination and an interview on barriers to cataract surgery causing blindness.

Results: A total of 8,016 people were examined out of the 8,150 planned, representing a participation rate of 98.35%. Distance visual impairment was bilateral in 40.83% (n = 3,273), with a blindness rate of 4.26% (n = 342), and unilateral in 18.54% (n = 486), with a unilateral blindness rate of 2.67% (n = 214). Near visual impairment was observed in 76.91% (n = 6,165), with an effective coverage rate of reading glasses of 0.3% (n = 20). The main causes of bilateral blindness were untreated cataract in 64.62%, followed by glaucoma at 13.16%. The effective cataract surgical coverage rate (eCSC) was 16.63%. The three main barriers to cataract surgery were cost (33.06%), lack of awareness of available treatment (27.25%), and inability to access surgery (19.05%). Refractive errors were observed in 15.74% (n = 1,262), with an effective refractive error coverage rate (eREC) of 1.58%.

Conclusion: The RAAB7 survey in Togo showed that the prevalence of bilateral blindness remains high, with low rates of effective coverage. It is urgent that eye health actions be strengthened and expanded in order to achieve improvement in these indicators.