It’s thought that more than 200,000 people in Malawi have visual impairments, with half caused by cataracts.
Sightsavers started working in Malawi in the 1950s. Much of our work in the country involves helping to improve eye care services, particularly in rural areas, so people with visual impairments can be diagnosed and treated.
In Malawi, 8.2 million people live in areas at risk of trachoma, and more than 33,000 people have the advanced stage of the disease that can lead to blindness. Sightsavers is working to eliminate trachoma and provides vital outreach to isolated communities, enabling health workers to reach as many people as possible.
We’re also training teachers to make sure children with disabilities are able to go to school and learn alongside their peers.
After years of struggle, Winesi has found happiness and hope for the future thanks to a cataract operation.
Read Winesi’s story
Sightsavers are working to eliminate neglected tropical diseases, such as trachoma, in the country.
Read the blog
We're training teachers and caregivers how to include children with disabilities in pre-school.
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We have a lot of work ahead of us to ensure that no one is left behind, but if we can eliminate one NTD, we can then focus on eliminating the others.
Many people with disabilities work in the informal sector. Unless they can leave their house every day, they struggle to meet their basic needs. For them, the situation is dire.
Sightsavers’ Ronnie Stapleton visited pre-schools across Malawi to train teachers how to include children with disabilities. She also learned a lot along the way.
Sightsavers won the award for its work supporting children with disabilities in Malawi.
A course designed for caregivers on the inclusion of young children with disabilities in community-based childhood care centres in Malawi.
Our research shows that a lack of education and financial resources, social stigma and inaccessible physical infrastructure mean fewer people with disabilities are participating in politics in Africa.