Sightsavers director Simon Bush awarded an OBE

Sightsavers’ Simon Bush has been awarded an OBE in King Charles III’s birthday honours, in recognition of his services to eliminating neglected tropical diseases.

Simon has worked at Sightsavers for 26 years and currently leads the organisation’s efforts to control and eliminate five neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These are a diverse group of 21 conditions that affect more than a billion people worldwide and can cause severe impairment and even death.

During Simon’s leadership as director of neglected tropical diseases, Sightsavers has supported Ghana, The Gambia, Malawi, Benin, Mali and Pakistan to eliminate trachoma, which is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. More countries supported by Sightsavers are expected to announce that they have eliminated trachoma in 2025 and 2026, with other NTDs targeted for elimination by 2030.

Commenting on his OBE, Simon said: “I’m so proud to read ‘neglected tropical diseases’ in the King’s birthday honours. It recognises an extraordinary global health success story that goes far beyond my work. Together, we’re eliminating devastating diseases like trachoma, which turns the eyelashes inwards so that they scrape against the eye, and lymphatic filariasis, which causes painful, swollen limbs.

“There are so many people dedicated to eliminating and controlling these horrific diseases. This award is also a recognition of the brilliant Sightsavers teams who have spent decades working on NTDs, as well as our partners in ministries of health and countless community health workers.”

Sightsavers’ NTD programmes have now protected more than 100 million people from these preventable diseases, enabling children to stay in education and adults to support their families.

Simon’s OBE comes as Sightsavers celebrates 75 years of working with governments and partners in more than 30 countries across Africa and Asia to tackle avoidable blindness, fight neglected tropical diseases and support people with disabilities to claim their rights.