Distributing Antibiotics to Prevent Blindness

Adanech recently brought her two daughters to one of Orbis' antibiotic* distributuion outreach programmes in southern Ethiopia. 

Adanech had suffered from trachoma 10 years ago and, after repeated infection without any treatment, she needed surgery in order to reverse the effects.

Therefore, when she heard about the outreach programme, from Health Extension Workers who visited her village, she knew how important it was for her daughters to receive the medication.

"I now understand the effects of trachoma. I know how to help my daughters from experiencing the same pain. I nearly went blind and I don't want that for them".

"In our community sight is very important because we need to go to fetch water, we need to go to buy something from the market, we need to go collect fire wood and the like and we use our eyes. If we have sight problems it is difficult to do all of these activities and we’re not going to be able to contribute. In the past I have seen people in our community that have had trachoma end up begging on the side of the road because they are unable to work. This medicine is going to help us be relieved from all these problems and that’s why I’m here". 

Orbis is working to contribute to the reduction of avoidable blindness and visual impairment due to trachoma. An estimated 200 million people are at risk of trachoma in 42 countries. Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease. It occurs in some of the poorest populations with limited access to clean water, sanitation, and healthcare, and is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.

In southern Ethiopia, Orbis is implementing the World Health organisation's SAFE strategy which involves conducting corrective Surgery to reverse the effects of blinding trachoma; distributing Antibiotics to treat the initial blinding infection; raising awareness of the importance of Facial cleanliness to prevent the bacteria which causes the infection and improving the surrounding Environment through access to clean water and sanitation. 

Thanks to your continued support, we are able to distribute more antibiotics to fight the infection. 

*Zithromax is the Pfizer-donated antibiotic used to protect against trachoma.