We’re working with the Yemen government and our partners to distribute medication to protect people from trachoma.
Sightsavers in Yemen
The Republic of Yemen is a small country on the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
While Yemen’s constitution promises high-quality health care for all its citizens, years of civil war have ravaged the country’s infrastructure and resources, leaving nearly half of its health facilities out of service.
It’s thought that up to 2.8 million people in Yemen are at risk of catching trachoma, a blinding eye disease.
In 2018, with the help of Sightsavers’ partners, we started work in the country to distribute antibiotics to protect people from trachoma. A team of more than 4,000 volunteers was trained to go door to door in 273 villages to give out the medication. Volunteers also distributed wash kits containing soap, and gave hygiene advice to help prevent the spread of the disease.
We’re continuing to distribute medication to prevent trachoma and are assessing the impact of this work, with the aim of eliminating the disease in the areas in which we work.
Facts about Yemen
- Population: 31 million
- Capital: Sanaa
- Official language: Arabic
- Human development index (HDI) ranking: 183 (low)
A child receives medicine in Yemen.
More than 444,000 doses of antibiotics were given out in Yemen during the first week-long distribution programme in 2018.
How you can help
Our charity work in Yemen is helping to protect people from blinding trachoma, but there’s still more we need to do to reach everyone.
With your support, we want to expand our treatment campaigns to other areas in Yemen where children and adults are at a high risk of trachoma, which can cause pain and permanent blindness if left untreated. To do this, we need your help.
Charity donations, legacies, corporate partnerships and gifts from charitable foundations are a vital source of funding for our work in Yemen. We also welcome opportunities to work in partnership with governments, institutions and development organisations.
Contact us: If you have any questions about our work in Yemen, would like more information about our programmes or wish to discuss ways you can donate or support us, email [email protected]
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