Safe Eye Care for Women & Girls in Ethiopia

Last week marked International Women’s Day (08 March) a moment to celebrate the women transforming eye care in their communities, and to recognise the vital role supporters like you play in making their work possible.

One of these remarkable women is Teshalech, who has spent the past 18 years serving as a vital link between health services and her community. Through her work, she has supported numerous mass drug administration campaigns, helping ensure that people can access the eye care they need.

Her work often means meeting people where they are, listening, encouraging and building trust.

One experience, in particular, has stayed with her.

Teshalech recalls convincing an elderly woman to seek surgery to save her sight from advanced trachoma. But when the time came for the local anaesthetic, the woman became frightened, and decided not to proceed witht the surgery today.

Many might have given up at that point. But Teshalech did not.

Instead, she visited the woman at home, took the time to listen to her fears, and gently reassured her that the treatment would help restore her sight. Slowly, trust grew.

In time, the woman returned to the health centre. She went on to have surgery on both eyes—and made a full recovery.

“A week later, she came to thank me with a gift,” Eshalech recalls with a smile. “Now, she’s one of our strongest advocates.”

Stories like this show the extraordinary impact that community health workers can have—not just by providing care, but by building trust and ensuring that people feel supported every step of the way.

And Teshalech is not alone. Around the world, women are playing a vital role in the fight against avoidable blindness. Some are caring for patients in rural clinics, others are training local medical teams so that sight-saving treatment can continue long into the future, and many are working directly with communities to raise awareness about eye health and prevent blindness before it starts.

Yet women also face greater barriers when it comes to eye health. Globally, women are more likely to experience vision loss than men. In fact, 112 million more women are living with blindness or vision impairment. Limited access to health education, financial challenges, and cultural expectations can all make it harder for women and girls to seek treatment.

Thanks to your support, Orbis is helping to change this story—by supporting women to lead the delivery of eye care in their communities.

Because of supporters like you, they are transforming lives every day—bringing sight, hope and opportunity to communities around the world.