Eye health

Mercia Cumaio.

Sightsavers Mozambique’s Mercia Cumaio named Eye Health Hero

The accolades, awarded by the IAPB, recognise eight young and upcoming leaders who are making a difference in eye health.

October 2019
A box of lenses used to check for refractive errors during an eye exam.

New figures show more than a billion people have avoidable vision impairment

The statistics feature in the World Health Organization's first World Report on Vision, published ahead of World Sight Day.

October 2019
Eye surgeon Upendo performs a cataract operation.

Sightsavers launches eye health programme in Tanzania

Sightsavers is launching a three-year programme to provide quality eye care to rural populations in the Morogoro and Singida regions.

October 2019
Postan outside with a smile on his face

Postan’s story

Opthalmic nurse Postan Phiri is a popular figure in the communities he visits in rural Zambia, referring patients with cataracts for sight-saving surgery.

Lovemore on a swing smiling after his operation

A childhood restored and a future secured

In eastern Zambia, Sightsavers’ Corinna May met nine-year-old Lovemore and saw his amazing transformation following sight-saving cataract surgery.

A student covers one eye during an eye test at a school in India.

How we’re training teachers to spot blinding eye conditions

Mr Aahiswar is head teacher at Rangai Middle School in central India. He has been trained to screen students for vision problems so children can get the life-changing help they need.

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

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.

Dr Msukwa in his office.

Dr Gerald Msukwa

Dr Msukwa is an ophthalmologist in southern Malawi. He restores sight through cataract operations, and says his passion is helping children to see again.

Survey highlights lack of knowledge about UV threat to our eyesight

A Sightsavers survey, in partnership with People’s Postcode Lottery, shows nearly half of Brits don’t choose their sunglasses for UV protection.

June 2019
A wide shot of the rural landscape in Nasir, South Sudan. The fields are very wet and the grass is a lush green.

Saving sight in the world’s most remote locations

Trachoma, a painful eye disease, can be easily treated with antibiotics. But the challenge is reaching the people who need treatment, particularly if they live in remote areas such as Nadir in South Sudan.

Professor Christopher Whitty.

Sightsavers trustee appointed chief medical officer for England

Professor Christopher Whitty, who has been on Sightsavers’ board of trustees since 2017, will take up the post in October.

June 2019
The Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute.

50,000 patients screened during first year of innovative cataract project

The Cameroon Cataract Development Impact Loan brings together public and private investors alongside eye care delivery experts and charities, including Sightsavers.

June 2019
Schoolgirl and trachoma champion Safira Mwale shows how to wash her face with a tippy tap by her home near Kasungu in Malawi, August 29, 2018.

Sightsavers to host ‘Build a tippy tap’ challenge at the Science Museum

Sightsavers will join the free Science Museum Lates event on 29 May 2019, where visitors will have the chance to build a home-made tap against the clock.

May 2019
Joseph's eye being checked by one of the clinic staff

‘Keep Sight’ project will train eye care staff to treat glaucoma in Nigeria

The initiative, run by Sightsavers, Allergan and the IAPB, initially aims to train 50 eye care workers, with the goal of screening 5,000 people and treating 500 patients.

May 2019
Close-up of eye test equipment, including specialist spectacles and lenses.

How an innovative school programme is improving health in Liberia

Sightsavers' integrated school health programme aims to improve the lives of more than 76,000 children through deworming and eye screening.

Adoley Sonii, May 2019
A group of smiling children in Bangladesh, some wearing spectacles.

Paediatric eye care services in Bangladesh

The programme aimed to support children from poor communities to access quality eye care services and improve awareness of the importance of early eye screening.

Aminata stands at the blackboard, holding a ruler to point out words.

How can the UK become a leader in sustainable development?

All the evidence from the International Development Committee hearing showed that the UK has not done enough on implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Andrew Griffiths, March 2019
Aluna, Mayasa and Bibi in front of their mud house

Forgotten mums

This Mother's Day we wanted to share the story of two mothers, Aluna and Mayasa, from a remote community in Tanzania.

Gladys Atoo in her Doctor's uniform, smiles at the camera

Gladys’s story

Gladys Atto is an everyday hero, saving sight and building long-term eye health services in Uganda. She’s one of the talented cataract surgeons whose training you’ve supported.

A girl having her eye sight tested.

Sierra Leone Eye Care Programme

More than 90 per cent of all blindness in Sierra Leone is also avoidable, significantly higher than the global average. This project aims to help reduce avoidable blindness and vision impairment.

Staff from Makeni Hospital's eyecare team smile for the camera.

Meeting Sierra Leone’s miracle workers

A group of Sightsavers staff travelled to Makeni Hospital in Sierra Leone to meet the amazing eye care workers your donations are helping to support.

Arthur puts his glasses on

Recycling used spectacles: Sightsavers’ policy

A position paper from Sightsavers explaining why they do not take part in the recycling of used spectacles, including lack of cost-effectiveness.

A man undergoes an eye examination in Cambodia.

Eye health strategy 2013-2018

This strategy is guided by Sightsavers’ Strategic Framework 2012-2018 and draws on the organisation’s range of technical, research and policy expertise.

A young boy wearing a colourful face mask and a bright yellow jumper covers hish right eye with his hand during an eye test.

The challenges facing health and education in Liberia

In 2013 a devastating Ebola outbreak decimated Liberia's already fragile healthcare system. Yet during this period, Sightsavers continued to operate.

Imran Khan, August 2017

Eye health evidence gap maps

Sightsavers gap maps show where evidence exists, or there are ‘gaps’ in the evidence on cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and refractive error.

An eye health clinic in Bhopal, India.

Delivering V2020 in the Caribbean: final report

The landmark Caribbean Strategic Framework for Vision 2020: The Right to Sight (CSF) was developed in 2002 and later updated in 2009.

A women is walking up to the entrance of a building. Men stand around outside.

Back from the brink: how Sierra Leone is recovering from Ebola

Sightsavers CEO Dr Caroline Harper visited Sierra Leone to see how health workers have coped since the Ebola virus. 

A boy in Pakistan wears special spectacles during an eye test.

Pakistan Urban Paediatric Eye Care Programme: evaluation

Sightsavers’ Pakistan Country Office developed a five-year project on child eye health in slum areas of five urban cities.

A mother and daughter hug after receiving cataract operations in India.

Sightsavers' approach to inclusive eye health: presentation

A presentation explaining Sightsavers' commitment to inclusive education for all, and existing government legislation on the issue.

Screenshot of Specsavers' online induction

Specsavers chooses Sightsavers as charity partner for new induction scheme

Sightsavers has been chosen as one of three charity partners to be part of Specsavers’ new online staff induction.

February 2016