By Diane Weatherup | Development Director
There is a gender gap in eye health – 55% of the world’s visually impaired people are women and girls. Gender inequality means that women and girls face barriers to accessing services. They may have less financial control to pay for services, or they may be unable to travel to access treatment.
Since 2006, Orbis has been working to eliminate a blinding and life-destroying eye disease- trachoma- in southern Ethiopia.
Shockingly, women in this region are three times more likely to get trachoma than men. Orbis works to reduce this disparity by bringing health care services directly to the community and at no charge.
In just over a decade, we have significantly reduced the prevalence of blinding trachoma in Ethiopia, in both men and women.
Fighting preventable blindness contributes to greater gender equality – enabling women and girls to access education, employment, and community life.
The results are staggering. Your generous, commitment not only ensures that women do not go unnecessarily blind, but also that children return to school, their parents can return to work to provide for their families and entire communities are free from the plight of blindness.
In 2019, with your help, Orbis will expand this success into new regions of Ethiopia, reaching more than 3.4million people.
On behalf of all those whose lives we have touched, we thank you for making it possible. With your continued support, we will build on these achievements in 2019.
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