Inclusive eye health

A woman wearing a surgical face mask holds two mobile phones while recording data about cataract operations in Nigeria.

Sightsavers trials technology to boost eye screening in Kenya

Peek Vision's innovative app aims to improve the country's eye health and ensure robust, continued care for people with visual impairments.

October 2024
Twelve-year-old Arthur smiles as he stands next to his teacher, Mr Thompson. They stand in front of a chalk board in a classroom.

Child eye health is key to wellbeing and accessing education

In line with World Sight Day’s focus on child eye health, our experts reveal why eye screenings in schools are boosting students’ academic performance.

Sightsavers, September 2024
Community volunteer Richard Lowoto with a group of patients and their families seated under a shady tree in Turkana, Kenya.

Reaching remote communities

In the unforgiving desert of northern Kenya, getting treatment for painful, debilitating eye conditions such as trachoma can be an impossible task.

Nyangan and her granddaughters standing outside their home in Turkana, Kenya.

Restoring sight in Uganda: Nyangan’s story

Sightsavers’ inclusive eye health programme is making sure older people and women such as Nyangan can get vital eye care.

Dr Gladys walks with a female health worker, all wearing medical scrubs.

“Everyone deserves quality eye care services”

In Uganda, an inclusive eye health programme has helped to protect people’s vision and build a sustainable eye health system that can be accessed by everyone.

Vision technician Ruth Zeo points to an eye chart during an eye screening

How do you rebuild a health system after decades of instability?

Liberia's National Eye Health Policy will ensure eye health is a priority and help strengthen the wider health system by developing a sustainable, inclusive eye care service.

Nazaradden Ibrahim, September 2023
Upendo talks to a patient during an eye test.

The Boresha Macho project: improving vision in Tanzania

In Singida, an inclusive eye health programme has made eye care services more affordable, sustainable and equitable. Here, four people involved with the project share their stories.

Amina smiles as she covers one of her eyes with her hand.

Lessons from the Boresha Macho eye health programme in Tanzania

Sightsavers’ Edwin Maleko shares the impact of an inclusive eye health programme on communities and eye care services in Singida and Morogoro.

Edwin Maleko, March 2023
Ophthalmologist Moira performs an eye operation.

A day in the life: “You really feel that you’ve made a difference”

Dr Moira Chinthambi received a Sightsavers scholarship to train as an ophthalmologist and now works on our inclusive eye health programme in Malawi.

A day in the life: “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time”

Alinafe Zaina is studying clinical ophthalmology in Malawi with the help of a scholarship provided by Sightsavers’ inclusive eye health programme.

Gladys Atto in her doctor's uniform, smiling at the camera.

A day in the life: the only ophthalmologist in Karamoja

“My name is Dr Gladys Atto. I wanted to be a doctor since I was a child, and I am very proud to be an ophthalmologist and have an impact on people’s lives.”

Illustration of student ophthalmologist Dr Hawa Megembe, sitting in a chair with flowers and a framed picture behind her.

A day in the life: “It’s a blessing to have the power to change someone’s life”

Dr Hawa Naiga Magembe is studying ophthalmology in Uganda with the help of a scholarship provided by Sightsavers’ inclusive eye health programme.

Asma stands smiling in front of a large palm tree.

“Every day is women’s day when you cherish women’s dignity”

Asma is project manager for Sightsavers’ inclusive eye health project in Bangladesh, which is breaking down the barriers women face when accessing eye care services.

A collage of images featuring men, women and children wearing glasses.

World Sight Day 2021: highlights from around the world

On 14 October 2021, Sightsavers staff, partner organisations and supporters celebrated World Sight Day to raise awareness about the importance of access to good eye care.

October 2021
Women waiting in a queue to get their eyes checked.

World Sight Day: Sightsavers calls for urgent action on global eye health

Sightsavers is marking World Sight Day on 14 October by highlighting that the number of people worldwide who are blind could reach 115 million by 2050.

October 2021
Four patients wait while socially distancing for their trauchoma surgery while wearing PPE and face masks.

Eye care and COVID-19: what we’ve learned during the pandemic

Throughout the pandemic, our priority has been to restart our work quickly and safely. Sightsavers staff reveal our how eye care programmes have evolved in the past 18 months.

A screengrab from Sumrana Yasmin and Mutave Mutemi video interview.

What do we mean by the global eye health crisis?

In an interview for World Sight Day 2021, Sumrana Yasmin, Sightsavers’ global technical lead for eye health, talks to Mutave Mutemi about her work, the global eye health crisis and how we all have a part to play in addressing it.

Sightsavers, October 2021
Safia has her eyes examined by a health worker to check for signs of trachoma.

Seeing clearly: five sight-saving stories in Benin

The Accelerate programme, supported by Sightsavers, aims to stop people going blind from trachoma. In Benin, five patients reveal how the programme has changed their lives.

A woman in Karachi, Pakistan having a consultation on diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy: a growing challenge in Pakistan

Pakistan is on the brink of a diabetes epidemic, and Sightsavers has spent the past decade working to combat diabetes-related blindness in the country. Here's what we've learned.

Sightsavers, June 2021
Amina covers one eye with her hand and smiles after cataract surgery.

“Many people who would have gone blind have had their sight restored”

Project coordinator Magdalena Focus talks about the challenges and successes of the community inclusive eye health project in Tanzania in 2020.

Magdalena Focus, February 2021
A group of children stand near an eye chart,.

A bright future: saving sight in Tanzania

Across Tanzania, six newly qualified ophthalmic assistants are putting their skills to work supporting remote eye screening camps and testing sight in local hospitals.

Text logo reading Vision Excellence Awards - Vision 2020 The Right to Sight

Three Sightsavers nominees win Vision Excellence awards

Three Sightsavers nominees from Tanzania have received recognition in the 2020 IAPB Vision Excellence awards.

January 2021
Two women standing outside.

Reaching Bangladesh’s transgender community

The transgender community often experiences discrimination and can find it hard to access healthcare. Meet some of the people who benefited from a Sightsavers eye health screening aimed at marginalised groups.

A smiling women stands in a doorway.

Azimunnisa’s story

We caught up with Azimunnisa, who lives in a informal urban settlement in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 11 years after her cataract operation to find out how life has changed.

How one project touched 34 million lives

As the 17-year-long Seeing is Believing project comes to an end, Imran Khan goes behind the scenes to reveal why it has made such an impact.

A boy having his eyes checked. The ophthalmologist and the boy are both wearing face coverings and there is a protective screen between them.

Programme staff: “How we adapted our eye health projects during COVID-19”

Sightsavers staff provide a first-hand insight into our work with ministries of health, partner hospitals and volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many people sit outside waiting for an eye examination.

Nine steps to holding pop-up eye screening camps on the doorsteps of marginalised communities

In February 2020, Sightsavers' Kirsty Bridger visited Bangladesh to learn how we organise our eye screening camps.

Nine-year-old Sumaiya smiling after her cataract operation at a hospital in Bangladesh_Ramadan appeal

WHO passes resolution urging countries to prioritise eye health

The World Health Organization passed a Resolution on The World Report on Vision in an effort to reach the 1 billion people worldwide who do not have access to vital eye care services.

August 2020
Two young girls with arms around each other

Marking the two-year anniversary of the Global Disability Summit

In 2018 the UK and Kenya co-hosted the first-ever global disability summit. We look back at what has been achieved in the two years since.

July 2020
Three social inclusion participants are in a line smiling at the camera.

Building back inclusively after COVID-19

COVID-19 has shown the need for systems to accommodate the new risks we face. Why not take the opportunity to build them back in a way that is inclusive?

Imran Khan, July 2020
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