Distributing Antibiotics to Prevent Blindness

Bonsa is 10 years old and blind in one eye. His family took him to a clinic when they first noticed problems, but the ointment Bonsa was given failed to save his sight.

Asrat Gebre, Orbis Project Coordinator in Ethiopia, met Bonsa and his family at an antibiotic distribution outreach programme, supported by Orbis. The antibiotic is used to protect against trachoma - an infectious disease that has blinded millions across Ethiopia.

“Bonsa needs to take antibiotics because he is already blind in one eye” Asrat said. “If his second eye becomes infected and he loses his sight, he will be completely blind. The blindness in his left eye proves he’s highly susceptible to infection.

Although it isn’t known what caused the blindness in Bonsa’s left eye, trachoma is a constant threat to the right. The disease is spread by flies, clothing and close human contact – particularly between mother and child- and festers in dry areas where people have limited access to water. Many Ethiopians consider trachoma an unavoidable fact of life.

Annually, Orbis-trained health workers visit over 1000 villages to distribute antibiotics. The large turn-out pleased the health workers, but convincing villagers of the efficacy of the antibiotic has not been easy.

Health workers first had to familiarise villagers with the antibiotic and convince them of its role in fighting trachoma. Then they had to persuade the villagers to overcome their suspicions about unknown medication, particularly when it came to giving it to their children.

This antibiotic offers a simple cure that has a marked success at controlling trachoma infection rates across Ethiopia!

Now that Bonsa has begun taking antibiotics, he can look forward to a future unmarred by the fear of total blindness. Worrying that his right eye would go blind was always on his mind, he said. Now he can concentrate on more important things, like school, his family and his hopes for the future.