In those 20 years our Flying Eye Hospital has visited the country 4 times to help raise awareness of our work, and the need for investment in eye care. It is due to visit again in October for a three-week training program around World Sight Day and will be helping our staff and partners shine a spotlight on Ethiopia and the problems that the local population face accessing eye care.
Celebrating 20 years of fighting blindness in Ethiopia
We’re proud to announce a huge milestone – we’re now celebrating 20 years of fighting blindness in Ethiopia. Our Addis Ababa office was officially registered in 1998 and became our very first program office outside the US.
While we’ve had a host of successes over the last 20 years (more news on these to follow soon) the population has nearly doubled in that time, from 65 million in 1998 to 105 million today.
1.6 million people are living with blindness and 3.5 million are living with uncorrected low vision in Ethiopia
While there's plenty more to do we’ve got a lot to celebrate. Over the next few months we’ll be sharing some of the successes and the partners who’ve made it all possible.
Orbis Ireland take part in the Great Ethiopia run in 2008
Local sponsors such as Ethiopian Airlines, NGO partners such as Sightsavers and Vision Aid Overseas, and international funders such as Irish Aid, DFID and US Aid; have all played a key role in training local teams and building the infrastructure required to deal with the eye care needs of Ethiopia’s growing population.
Can you help provide a brighter future for Ethiopia
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