2019 in review: what we achieved
It's been another groundbreaking year for Sightsavers. Find out what we’ve been up to, from launching new programmes and hosting exhibitions to meeting the Queen…
January
Sightsavers kicked off the year by featuring in a high-profile report published in US business magazine Forbes about our work in Ghana. In 2018, Sightsavers and partners made history by helping Ghana become the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate trachoma, paving the way for other countries to follow. Read the Forbes case study
February
February
Also in February, we launched our latest fundraising campaign. The End is in Sight will run for several years and aims to help banish trachoma in most of the countries in which we operate by 2025. Sightsavers CEO Caroline Harper said: “Everyone who donates to the appeal could help us get one step closer to consigning this awful disease to history.”
March
March
Staff from Sightsavers’ online and design team hosted a workshop for graphic designers and creative professionals to promote inclusive design and accessibility. It welcomed guests from design agencies, charities and other organisations, and reinforced Sightsavers’ commitment to be as inclusive as possible. About the workshop
April
April
We also celebrated as two of Sightsavers’ films scooped high-profile prizes. Our film marking the one billionth treatment for NTDs won bronze in the Charity Film Awards, while in May a film highlighting Sightsavers’ work also won bronze in the Brand Film Festival Awards. Read about the Charity Film Awards and the Brand Film Festival Awards
May
June
The World Health Organization announced that trachoma rates worldwide have fallen by 91 per cent since 2002. WHO praised more than 100 organisations, including Sightsavers, that have worked together to tackle the disease, showing that it could be possible to eliminate trachoma for good within the next generation. Read the WHO news story
June
July
Sightsavers joined eye health organisations in New York for an event to promote inclusion and vision for all. Hosted by the UN’s Friends of Vision, it featured contributions from Sightsavers Pakistan country director Munazza Gillani and UN representatives. It was organised by Clearly, Sightsavers, the IAPB and the Mission of Antigua and Barbuda.
July
August
An area of Nigeria that was once rife with river blindness was found to be free from the disease. More than 4.2 million people are now protected against river blindness in Plateau, Nasarawa and Kaduna states, and no new cases have been found in the region, bringing the disease one step closer to being eliminated completely. Read the news story
September
October
On World Sight Day (10 October), the World Health Organization unveiled new figures showing at least a billion people have impaired vision that either could have been prevented or is treatable. WHO’s World Report on Vision said the figures are likely to rise dramatically because of the world’s ageing population. Read the WHO story
October
Photo © Lemon Imaging
October
Our interactive BLINK photo exhibition took place at London’s gallery@oxo, on the South Bank, to raise awareness of the End is in Sight campaign to fight trachoma. As visitors viewed the digital photos, every blink they made caused the images to change, leaving the photos permanently altered. The results were an artistic interpretation of the vision loss that trachoma can cause. More on the BLINK exhibition
November
November
Sightsavers’ Social Inclusion Working Group welcomed lunchtime speaker Lee Spencer to talk to staff about his experiences. Single-leg amputee Lee is the first physically disabled person to have rowed solo across the Atlantic, smashing the able-bodied world record by more than a month. His goal was to show that no one should defined by their disability. More about Lee
December
Looking ahead
2020 promises to be busier than ever for Sightsavers as we continue our groundbreaking work. On 5 January we celebrate our 70th birthday, marking seven decades since Sir John Wilson founded the British Empire Society for the Blind (the original name of Sightsavers). Keep an eye on social media to find out how we’ll be celebrating! Our history
What else has Sightsavers been doing this year?
Read our news and blogs
Global Disability Summit 2025: Sightsavers calls for stronger commitment to inclusion
Sightsavers will host two events and two exhibition spaces at the event in Berlin on 2-3 April, calling on attendees to join us in targeting inequality.
Sightsavers at the CIES education conference 2025
We attended the conference in Chicago on 22-26 March to share Sightsavers’ expertise, engage with the education community and explore how we can help to transform inclusive education.
Sightsavers’ IT Bridge Academy wins top-performing academy award
The IT Bridge Academy, which supports young people with disabilities to train for a career in IT, received the accolade from technology company Cisco.
