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
February updates: highlights from around the world
An update from Sightsavers’ India office, which has won several high-profile awards for its NGO work. Plus news from Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.
How partnerships help us reach vulnerable communities
In Pakistan, we work with disabled people’s organisations to ensure our new eye health programme is inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities.
November updates: highlights from around the world
News about a programme that has distributed more than 137,000 pairs of glasses across eight countries. Plus updates from Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique and more.
October updates: highlights from around the world
In October, celebrations took place in many of Sightsavers' programme countries to mark World Sight Day. Plus news from Kenya, Mozambique and more.
Naheed’s story
Naheed is one of the final patients to have surgery as a result of our Million Miracles campaign, which has raised enough to fund a million cataract operations in the countries where we work.
We’re making huge progress on avoidable blindness, but we still have work to do
Sightsavers’ Charity Dandak reflects on our achievements through the Seeing is Believing programme, and highlights the challenges we still face to tackle avoidable blindness.
Eye care for those who need it most
In Pakistan, Ulrica Hansson learns how Sightsavers’ Right to Health programme is transforming local health care so people with disabilities are no longer excluded.
August highlights: updates from around the world
The latest from Kenya, where Sightsavers staff have been carrying out eye screenings in a refugee camp in Turkana. Plus news from India and Nigeria.
July highlights: updates from around the world
An update from Benin, where eye care staff have been travelling 3km on foot to treat ‘the disease at the end of the road’. Plus news from Nigeria, Pakistan and more.
More UK funding announced for disability-inclusive employment initiatives
The funding, which was announced by UK Secretary of State Penny Mordaunt, aims to address disability inclusion in developing countries.
Charter for disability inclusion is agreed at Pakistan summit
The charter aims to make sure people with disabilities are included in the country’s social and economic development.
Sightsavers co-hosts consultation on disability inclusion in Pakistan
The workshop aimed to make sure people with disabilities are included in global development plans, ahead of the first Global Disability Summit in July.
We save sight in 30 countries worldwide
Where we work