World NTD day

The next World NTD Day will be celebrated on January 30 2023 and we're joining the 300+ organizations to help raise awareness and call on the global community to work together to eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) blind, disable and disfigure people, taking away not only their health, but also their chances of staying in school, earning a living, or even being accepted by their family or community.

List of Neglected Tropical Diseases

The Neglected Tropical Disease that Orbis primarily focuses on is trachoma.

Trachoma – a painful bacterial eye infection – is one of those most prevalent Neglected Tropical Diseases and a major focus of our work globally. We recently celebrated the news that trachoma has decreased by 91% since 2002 in endemic areas.

This is all thanks to the collaborative efforts of the eye health community and those who support it, helping get clean water, sanitation, increase awareness, and preventative antibiotics to those at risk.

But the fight is far from over! With the right tools and knowledge in place, we can make an Neglected Tropical Diseases like blinding trachoma history.

Trachoma is an infectious eye disease and if left untreated it can develop into trichiasis - a painful condition where the eyelids turn inwards and the eyelashes rub against the surface of the eye leading to irreversible blindness.

Thanks to the support of partners and donors, we have helped reduce trachoma infection rates in 24 regions of Ethiopia. Here's how we're addressing trachoma infections particularly in rural areas where there is limited access to healthcare.

Training on the frontline:

We're training a whole host of outreach workers in hard-to-reach areas of Ethiopia to deliver the surgeries and treatments needed to fight the disease.

Mass Drug Administration:

Since 2008 we've helped distribute 98.2 million doses of antibiotics to treat and prevent trachoma. The latest Mass Drug Administration took place at the end of the beginning of 2023, with extra planning and precautions still in place dut COVID-19, our teams in Ethiopia have to work even harder to protect families from this blinding disease.

The antibiotic that we use is Zithromax, which is produced by Pfizer. Pfizer kindly donates all the Zithromax that the Orbis team needs to end this disease.

Educating communities:

We're building awareness of the infection and promoting better hygiene through educating community health workers, health extension workers, teachers, local women’s group leaders and community leaders about eye health.

This World NTD Day, we'd like to pay a special thanks to all of our volunteers, partners and supporters, who have been instrumental in the fight against trachoma around the world.

With your ongoing support, our goal is to eliminate this terrible blinding eye disease.