Our work in Yemen
In 2018, Sightsavers started working in Yemen to distribute treatments to protect against trachoma. More than 444,000 doses of antibiotics were given out during the first week-long distribution programme.
Yemen has been ravaged by years of civil war, leaving many people unable to access clean water or sanitation. These conditions have helped trachoma to thrive.
It’s thought that up to 2.5 million people in Yemen are at risk of contracting this blinding eye disease.
In 2018, with the help of our partners, we started work in Yemen to distribute the first antibiotics to protect people against trachoma. A team of more than 4,000 volunteers were trained to go door to door to give out the medication, and the majority of the volunteers were women: they were chosen because they are able to go into houses to treat other women and children, while men are often not admitted because of local customs.
More campaigns are now being planned in other districts in Yemen. There are also 2,000 people with trichiasis, the advanced stage of the disease, who need surgery to save their sight.
How we’re fighting trachoma in Yemen
We’re helping to train female volunteers so they can go door to door to distribute medication. This enables them to reach as many members of the community as possible, ensuring everyone receives the treatment they need.
More about the programmeYour donation could help to protect sight
DONATEMore from west Asia
Stories from the SHIP eye health project in Pakistan
Sightsavers’ eye health screening project in Pakistan is helping children see and learn all over the country. We listen to stories of some of the children we have helped.
Pakistan’s first-ever Disability Rights Act becomes law
The legislation, approved on 10 January, will make it illegal to discriminate or exclude people on the basis of disability.
November updates: highlights from around the world
In Nigeria, a lymphatic filariasis patient is planning to marry his partner after receiving treatment to stop his pain. Plus news from Senegal, Zambia and India.
A journey, not a destination: eye health integration in Pakistan
Following simple steps can help decision-makers and donors to improve the system further, helping millions of people in need of eye care services in rural areas.
How Sightsavers celebrated World Sight Day
To mark World Sight Day 2019 on 10 October, Sightsavers country offices celebrated by highlighting the need to provide good-quality eye care to everyone.
Sightsavers and partners help to halve blindness cases in remote Indian Sundarbans
Before the Sightsavers eye health programme in the Sundarbans started, one in every 40 people over the age of 50 in the region was blind. Today, that number has dropped to one in 80.
Halving blindness in the remote Sundarbans
In this rural mangrove region of eastern India, one in 50 people used to be blind. But a Sightsavers project has transformed eye health in the area, changing thousands of lives.
Eye care for everyone in India
Sightsavers India is partnering with hospitals, tapping into existing eye care systems and creating new ones to provide affordable eye care for people living in some of the poorest areas of the country.
Roadside eye care: helping Indian truckers stay safe behind the wheel
Sightsavers' Kate McCoy spent three days at a noisy roadside truck stop to see how Sightsavers is helping truck drivers to get the vital eye treatment they need.
September updates: highlights from around the world
News from India, featuring a Sightsavers-supported judoka who won a bronze medal at a Commonwealth competition. Plus the latest from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Zambia.
August updates: highlights from around the world
A round-up of the latest work that your donations help to support, including news from Nigeria, Mozambique, Pakistan and 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.
We save sight in 30 countries worldwide
Where we work