Ensuring Girls in Ethiopia Receive Basic Eye Care

In rural areas of Ethiopia, women are three to four times more likely than men to have blinding trachoma. Thus, control of trachoma is likely to benefit women more than men and educating women is likely to be more impactful in the reduction of trachoma. 

Training of Women's Group Leaders (WGL) and Community Health Agents (CHA) - who are all women - creates the opportunity to increase eye health awareness and address the problem through the active participation of women. 

Importantly, through repairing a number of water schemes across the region of Gama Gofa, Derashe and Konso in southern Ethiopia, Orbis has reduced the distance women have to travel to fetch water.

Now, women are able to better participate in economic activities, take better care of their own and their children’s hygiene and contribute to environmental improvement.