Our work in Sudan
We distribute medication and carries out eye screenings in areas of Sudan affected by civil war. In 2020 we provided more than 256,000 treatments for eye diseases such as trachoma.
Sudan has been devastated by years of civil war, with much of its population facing an inadequate water supply and poor sanitation.
These conditions mean that neglected tropical diseases such as trachoma are rife.
In 2014, Sightsavers began tracking the spread of trachoma in Darfur states, expanding to Khartoum in 2015. This enabled the country’s ministry of health to pinpoint exactly where to run trachoma treatment programmes and offer life-changing support.
In 2016, we began to distribute medication to prevent and treat the disease in central, west and north Darfur – an area the size of France. In 2017 we trained 2,600 local volunteers to give out medication in their communities. Many of these volunteers are women, which enables them to visit homes that men may not otherwise be able to enter because of local customs and culture.
In subsequent years we have distributed hundreds of thousands of treatments for eye diseases such as trachoma and carried out eye screenings in areas of Sudan affected by civil war.
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“We’re playing a critical role to banish trachoma”
Since 2012, Sightsavers has been using smartphones to collect high-quality data, so that countries can effectively map the disease and focus their elimination efforts.
Captain Clean: teaching children about hygiene through games
Schools in Kenya, Ethiopia and Guinea are using educational board games to teach children about the importance of good hygiene to help eliminate trachoma.
June 2021 update: highlights from around the world
A round-up of our work that your donations are helping to support, including news from India, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Malawi.
Is data integration the answer to eliminating trachoma in Ethiopia?
Biruck Kebede, who leads Sightsavers’ NTD work in Ethiopia, explains how data can help to eliminate diseases such as trachoma.
Including people with disabilities in African political life
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.
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.
How health workers are gathering data to fight trachoma in conflict areas
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Health in Sudan invited eye health workers from Somalia and Libya to attend a training session to teach them how to gather data as part of the Tropical Data initiative.
Photo of sight-saving surgery is nominated for UK prize
Adriane Ohanesian’s image of a surgeon operating on a teenager in a makeshift clinic has been put forward for the Wellcome Photography Prize 2019.
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.
We save sight in 30 countries worldwide
Where we work