At Sightsavers, we prevent blindness among some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Learn how our vital work fights sight loss in Africa and Asia.
How we protect sight
Worldwide, 1.1 billion people have a visual impairment that could be treated or prevented.
Unless eye health services improve around the world, 61 million people could be blind by 2050 because of global population growth and ageing.
The impact of visual impairment can be devastating. It can stop children going to school. It can prevent people finding a job. It can force people into a spiral of poverty. And the knock-on effects can harm families and entire communities.
But you can help us change this. At Sightsavers, we believe nobody should be blind from avoidable causes, and we want everybody to be able to get eye treatment when they need it. A pair of glasses or an operation to remove cataracts can transform people’s lives.
What we’re doing to save and protect sight
We treat eye conditions
We support eye care staff to tackle eye conditions including cataracts and trachoma, and we help to eliminate diseases that affect sight.
The eye conditions we treat
We train eye surgeons
Our work relies on thousands of skilled staff. Since 1950, we’ve trained more than 1,000 local cataract surgeons.
A guide to eye health roles
We give out medication
Sightsavers works with partners to distribute millions of donated treatments to prevent eye diseases in more than 30 countries.
How we distribute medication
We use local volunteers
Our volunteers work in their local communities and are trained to check symptoms, give out medicine and refer patients for treatment.
Meet our volunteers
We make eye health accessible
We ensure people with disabilities, women and other marginalised groups can get eye care.
Our inclusive health approach
We carry out research
Our in-house experts conduct extensive research to ensure Sightsavers’ eye health work is robust, efficient and effective.
About our research
Mary smiles after her eye operation.
“I’m so happy I can see my grandfather again!”
Cataracts were slowly stealing 10-year-old Mary's sight, leaving her struggling at school and excluded by her friends. But a straightforward operation restored her vision and gave her hope for the future. Read her story
How you can help
Since our work began, we’ve helped to provide more than 9 million cataract operations.
We’ve also distributed more than 1.8 billion treatments to protect people from blinding diseases such as trachoma and river blindness. But we need your support to continue protecting sight.
Access to the right eye care can create a massive, positive ripple effect in people’s lives. Globally, hundreds of billions of dollars are lost in productivity each year because of visual impairment. But eye care can improve access to education and work opportunities, and reduce poverty and hunger. Will you help us achieve this?
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