Eye health

An eye health doctor wearing a smart white shirt and sunglasses.
Stories / Eye health /

Eye health hero: Alinafe cuts the queues

Learn about one man's mission to make a difference in his community in rural Malawi by training as an eye health specialist. Now, long queues at the eye clinic are a thing of the past.

Dr Gladys walks with a female health worker, all wearing medical scrubs.
Stories / Eye health /

“Everyone deserves quality eye care services”

In Uganda, an inclusive eye health programme has helped to protect people’s vision and build a sustainable eye health system that can be accessed by everyone.

News / Eye health /

Sightsavers to exhibit at UK’s largest optical event

Sightsavers is at the 100% Optical conference in London on 24-26 February, to raise awareness about avoidable blindness and invite eye health professionals to help protect sight worldwide.

February 2024
Zahra has her eyes examined.
Stories / Eye health /

Bringing eye health into the classroom

Zahra is one of the many children now thriving thanks to a Sightsavers programme to screen school students for eye conditions and health problems.

Hortance stands alongside a man at a Sightsavers event stand.
Blogs / Eye health /

Six takeaways from the International Conference for Public Health in Africa

Sightsavers’ Hortance Manjo shares insights from the event in Zambia, which highlighted eye health for the first time.

January 2024
A mother and her young daughter hug and smile.
Blogs / Eye health /

Going beyond health: the role eye care plays in the SDGs

Eye health has an impact on numerous Sustainable Development Goals, and has a ripple effect that improves gender equity, education, economic and health outcomes.

December 2023
A mother holds and looks at her young son as they stand in front of a brick wall.
Stories / Eye health /

Treating cataracts in Zambia: “I know their future is going to be bright”

Cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness. On World Sight Day, learn what Sightsavers is doing to protect the sight of children with cataracts in Zambia.

Vision technician Ruth Zeo points to an eye chart during an eye screening
Blogs / Eye health /

How do you rebuild a health system after decades of instability?

Liberia's National Eye Health Policy will ensure eye health is a priority and help strengthen the wider health system by developing a sustainable, inclusive eye care service.

September 2023
Dr Jalikatu uses a magnifier to look at a girl's eyes.
News / Eye health /

Sightsavers-trained doctor appointed deputy minister of health in Sierra Leone

Dr Jalikatu Mustapha trained with Sightsavers between 2012 and 2016, becoming the only female ophthalmologist in the country.

August 2023
Sightsavers' CEO Caroline Harper poses for a group photo with staff from Sightsavers Bangladesh during its 50th anniversary celebrations in Dhaka.
News / Eye health /

Sightsavers Bangladesh marks 50-year anniversary

Sightsavers began working in Bangladesh in 1973 to diagnose and treat people for cataracts, which is one of the most common eye conditions in the country.

August 2023
Upendo talks to a patient during an eye test.
News / Eye health /

Sightsavers partnership aims to improve global access to eye care

Sightsavers has partnered with the Fred Hollows Foundation and PlenOptika to pilot a new vision care strategy that aims to revolutionise eye care worldwide.

June 2023
A close-up of a woman having her eyes checked for trachoma.
Stories / Eye health /

Trachoma elimination in Benin: “All the pain was gone. It was like a miracle!”

Benin has become the latest country to eliminate blinding trachoma. Here we meet people whose lives have been transformed, and those who helped to banish the disease.

Upendo talks to a patient during an eye test.
Stories / Eye health /

The Boresha Macho project: improving vision in Tanzania

In Singida, an inclusive eye health programme has made eye care services more affordable, sustainable and equitable. Here, four people involved with the project share their stories.

Three local people from Malawi, shown against an illustrated purple background.
Stories / Eye health /

When small ripples make big waves: stories from Malawi

In a village in Malawi live Wilson, Ganizani and Alice. Learn how the impact of one eye operation spread through their entire community, changing lives as it went.

A montage of handwritten letters and photos from Malawi.
Stories / Eye health /

Letters from Malawi

Hear first-hand how people’s lives have been transformed now that trachoma has been eliminated in the country.

Arif and his mother sit on a bed chatting.
Stories / Eye health /

“Now I know what a gift sight is”

Arif’s life changed when he had two cataract operations at five years old. We've been following his journey since then, from completing his education to finding work as a driver.

Vainesi smiles and claps outside her home in Malawi.
News / Eye health /

Trachoma is eliminated in Malawi

Malawi has become the first country in southern Africa to eliminate the infectious eye disease trachoma, as confirmed by the World Health Organization.

September 2022
Mary stands holding a book after her cataracts operation.
Stories / Eye health /

“I’m so happy I can see my grandfather again!”

Mary has regained her sight and independence after a successful cataracts operation, enabling her to return to school and play with other children.

Gladys Atto in her doctor's uniform, smiling at the camera.
Stories / Eye health /

A day in the life: the only ophthalmologist in Karamoja

“My name is Dr Gladys Atto. I wanted to be a doctor since I was a child, and I am very proud to be an ophthalmologist and have an impact on people’s lives.”

A girl wearing a cloth face mask adjusts her glasses to read a vision chart.
News / Eye health /

WHO guide aims to help countries tackle global eye care crisis

The guide provides a framework and technical tools to help countries prioritise eye health issues and deliver high-quality, inclusive eye care services.

May 2022
An eye health worker shines a torch into a woman's eyes to check for eye issues. She's wearing a colourful pink headscarf.
News / Eye health /

Sightsavers publishes new eye health research in partnership with RSTMH

The research supplement highlights how non-governmental organisations such as Sightsavers can generate high-quality evidence through their programmes.

April 2022
Dr Jalikatu uses ophthalmology equipment to examine a man's eyes.
Stories / Eye health /

“As a woman, you’re always trying to prove that you belong”

Meet Dr Jalikatu, who’s the only female ophthalmologist in Sierra Leone and the head of the national eye care programme.

Four patients wait while socially distancing for their trauchoma surgery while wearing PPE and face masks.
Stories / Eye health /

Eye care and COVID-19: what we’ve learned during the pandemic

Throughout the pandemic, our priority has been to restart our work quickly and safely. Sightsavers staff reveal our how eye care programmes have evolved in the past 18 months.

A patient is interviewed by a member of Sightsavers staff as part of a project.
Stories / Eye health /

The fight against "the silent thief of sight"

As part of the Keep Sight project in Nigeria, eye surgeons are learning new ways to treat patients with glaucoma.

Two women standing outside.
Stories / Eye health /

Reaching Bangladesh’s transgender community

The transgender community often experiences discrimination and can find it hard to access healthcare. Meet some of the people who benefited from a Sightsavers eye health screening aimed at marginalised groups.

A young man sitting in the driver seat of a van.
Stories / Eye health /

Arif’s life changed after an operation as a child: a 15-year story

As a young child, Arif had a low-cost cataract operation through Sightsavers. It changed his life, enabling him to study and thrive at school, and later to leave home and find a job.

A box of lenses used to check for refractive errors during an eye exam.
Education / Eye health /

Guidelines for school-based eye health programmes

The purpose of these guidelines is to provide direction to those planning and implementing vision screening programmes as a part of eye health initiatives within the education sector.

A woman has her eyes checked by an eye health worker in an outdoor screening camp in India.
News / Eye health /

Sightsavers named most cost-effective health charity

Charity evaluator ImpactMatters awarded Sightsavers a five-star rating for cost-effectiveness – the highest score available.

November 2019
A mural on a school wall showing five superhero characters.
Stories / Eye health /

How soap and superheroes are changing lives

Geordie Woods explains how the Super School of Five trachoma prevention programme is protecting school children from this devastating disease.

Two surgeons at work in the operating theatre at Mymensingh hospital. They're wearing green scrubs.
Stories / Eye health /

The hospital in Bangladesh that’s restoring sight and changing lives

Robbie Peacock and Ciara Smullen travelled to the northern town of Mymensingh to visit a hospital that is saving the sight of thousands of people a year.

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