6. Providing Interventions

Treating cataracts is one of the best-documented cases of surgical interventions provided at the population level. India has used mobile camps to provide cheap and efficient cataract surgery in rural areas. The number of surgeries more than doubled from 1.2 million in 1991-92 to 2.7 million in 1996-97. The cost was about US$97 per patient in camps, compared with US$176 in medical college hospitals and US$54 in nongovernmental hospitals. At less than US$25 per DALY, cataract surgery in India is highly cost-effective.

Source: Adapted from DCP2, chapter 67.