Where we work
Millions of people go blind every year, and millions more suffer poor vision, simply because of where they were born. We think this is unacceptable. Learn more about where we work and the communities we help around the world.
Africa
Cameroon
It is estimated that nearly a quarter of a million people in Cameroon suffer from blindness and 600,000 suffer from vision loss with cataracts contributing nearly half of all cases of blindness. There is a lack of skilled eye care professionals, infrastructure and equipment to adequately address these needs.
Read moreGhana
The need for child eye health services in Ghana is immense. It is estimated that 9,000 children are blind, and up to 70 percent of these cases are avoidable. There are only two trained pediatric ophthalmologists in the country, and no formal pediatric ophthalmology training exists.
Read moreKenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania & Uganda
Across Africa, an estimated 4.8 million people are blind and another 16.6 million are visually impaired.
Read moreEthiopia
Four million people in Ethiopia are blind or visually impaired. Cataracts are the leading cause, affecting some 1.7 million people. The country also accounts for 30 percent of trachoma in sub-Saharan African countries, or 1.2 million people. With only 130 ophthalmologists in the country, there is a severe shortage of eye health professionals.
Read moreSouth Africa
South Africa is home to an enormous blind population and has a severe shortage of ophthalmologists to adequately serve them. In all of South Africa, there are only 324 ophthalmologists, most of who work in built up cities. Countrywide there are only a few fully qualified pediatric ophthalmologists.
Read moreZambia
Zambia has one of the lowest GDPs on the planet, with three-quarters of its population living in poverty. Tragically, it also has a large blind population and one of the highest rates of childhood blindness in the world.
Read moreAsia
Bangladesh
With only 950 ophthalmologists, Bangladesh faces daunting challenges in delivering quality eye care to its population of 160 million people. Across the country, 750,000 adults and 48,000 children are blind, and approximately 2.5 million people are at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of blindness.
Read moreChina
China is estimated to have the largest number of blind people in the world — around 8.2 million. Yet most eye care professionals, particularly surgically skilled ophthalmologists, are disproportionately located and practicing in urban areas, while a majority of the blind live in rural areas.
Read moreMONGOLIA
Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness followed by glaucoma. Mongolia is also facing an epidemic of diabetic retinopathy (DR), a potentially blinding condition associated with diabetes.
Read moreIndia
India is home to more than 20 percent of the world's blind population and the largest number of blind children in any one country. The divide between the rich and poor continues to increase, leaving a significant portion of the population without access to basic healthcare services — most of whom live either in rural India or in urban slums.
Read moreNepal
Nepal’s diverse terrain – ranging from hot and humid in the south to the snow clad Himalayas in the north – has exacerbated the unequal distribution of infrastructure, equipment, and human resources in eye health. As a result, much of the population is left without adequate access to quality eye care services.
Read moreVietnam
There are 400,000 adults and 23,000 children in Vietnam who are blind. While blindness in Vietnam has decreased over the last decade, the country continues to struggle with providing eye care, especially in rural areas. Quality of care, training and human resources still remain problematic, and overall awareness of how to prevent blindness is low.
Read moreLatin America and the Caribbean
Peru
In Peru, more than three-quarters of a million people are visually impaired and another 115,000 are blind. There is a critical need for high quality eye care services to tackle the leading causes of eye disease in the region, including retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in premature babies and diabetic retinopathy (DR).
Read morebolivia
Bolivia has one of the highest rates of blindness and visual impairment in South America with more than 230,000 people affected. With only 470 ophthalmologists serving 11.5 million people, Bolivia lacks the resources - as well as the necessary infrastructure, equipment, and technology - to provide high quality eye health services.
Read moreCHILE
We began working in Chile, where there are more than 57,000 people living with blindness and 470,000 people with vision impairment, in the fall of 2018. Simulation is a large part of our strategy both to help reach more people, and more importantly, improve patient safety.
Read moreGunaya
In Guyana, around 14,000 people are visually impaired and almost 3,000 people are blind. Strengthening Diabetic Retinopathy eye care services is a major area of focus with diabetes affecting an estimated 15.1% of the country’s total population.
Read moreFundraising Offices
