Ensuring Girls in Ethiopia Receive Basic Eye Care

Trachoma affects people living in remote and rural communities, usually in abject poverty; it is one of the most unfair diseases in the world, blinding the people who have the least to start with and making them poorer.

Trachoma is the world's leading infectious cause of blindness. It is one of 18 neglected tropical diseases that effects over one billion of the world's poorest people. 

Trachoma is caused by a contagious bacterial infection of the eye spread from person to person through contact with contaminated hands, clothing and flies. It often begins in early childhood, and is worsened by episodes of reinfection. This causes inflammation and scarring of the inner eyelid. The eyelashes touch and scratch the surface of the eyeball and, considering we blink an estimated 19,000 times each day, this repeated action leads to horrific pain and irreversible blindness.

Many trachoma sufferers are women and children who unknowingly pass infection to each other with every hug or touch. All too often it is the women who are the sole providers for a family. Women who cannot see, cannot work and therefore cannot feed their children. Trachoma not only threatens individuals, but entire families and ultimately communities.

Whilst impressive progress has been made in recent years, we still have a lot to do, particularly as the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem cannot be achieved in isolation when it is linked to so many other pressing health and development issues, including lack of access to clean water, and improved sanitation and hygiene. 

Orbis is committed to eliminating trachoma. We know we are on the brink of achieving something significant. Eliminating Trachoma. Now, we need to scale up programmes and strengthen health systems to ensure the poorest people, those most affected by trachoma, are not left behind.

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