In 2014, South Africa had 383,920 blind. The majority of the ophthalmologists work in urban areas and private sector, whereas the citizens most at risk live in rural areas. In Ethiopia, trachoma - an entirely preventable eye disease - is partly responsible for causing blindness in nearly a million people. Approximately 9,000 children in Ghana are blind – more than half these cases were avoidable.
Africa
Africa is the continent with the highest prevalence of blindness with an estimated 4.8 million blind and 16.6 million people living with severe to moderate visual impairment.
Clouds in their eyes - A video by Orbis Africa
In many regions of Africa, there are barriers to reaching children that need eye care – whether these are geographical, financial or social. In Ghana, we have found that there is an ongoing challenge with patients being booked for surgery and then not attending, due to financial difficulties or cultural beliefs about surgery.
To combat this, we are improving counseling services at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Eye Unit and have converted an office into a "Paediatric Counselling Room", to provide privacy and reassurance for patients and their relatives.
Find out what we're doing to fight avoidable blindness elsewhere in 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.
A young girls stares out of the windows of the Flying Eye Hospital, an eye patch over her right eye
Ghana
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.
Our Work in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania & Uganda | Orbis
Across Africa, an estimated 4.8 million people are blind and another 16.6 million are visually impaired.
A young girls stares out of the windows of the Flying Eye Hospital, an eye patch over her right eye
Our Work in South Africa | Orbis
South Africa is home to an enormous blind population and has a severe shortage of ophthalmologists to 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.
A young South African child with retinoblastoma
Our Work in Zambia | Orbis
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.
A young girls stares out of the windows of the Flying Eye Hospital, an eye patch over her right eye
Our Work in Ethiopia | Orbis
Last year we celebrated an amazing 20 years of fighting blindness in Ethiopia. The Addis Ababa office, registered in 1998, was our very first program office and currently manages our largest portfolio of comprehensive eye care programs; including training, governance and health system strengthening in urban hospitals to rural eye care clinics.
Cataract patient Aylito, Ethiopia