Orbis Ireland Annual Impact Report 2022
2022 was a challenging but positive year for our Orbis Ireland-funded project in Ethiopia. As Covid restrictions began to lift, so did many of the difficulties we faced in 2021.
While not yet back to pre-Covid levels, our income remained strong. However, importantly, by the end of the year, we had reached our targets for treatments, screenings and surgeries. This success is down to the resilience and creativity of the Orbis team and our partners, who, during the pandemic, became experts in adapting and adjusting to new ways of working. It’s also thanks to the commitment and engagement of you, our supporters, who make our sight-saving work possible.
One of the year's highlights was the Orbis Ireland team's visit to Ethiopia in November. After three years, it was humbling to return to the Orbis Ireland-funded project in SNNPR and witness the developments on the ground. As always, talking to our colleagues in Ethiopia and our partners was hugely inspiring. We learned in more detail the challenges they faced during COVID-19 and their commitment to provide sight-saving treatment for their patients. Later in the Annual Report, we will share stories from some of the beneficiaries we met during this visit to Ethiopia.
The disruption to the global supply of antibiotics to treat trachoma eye infections in Ethiopia was a significant challenge to the team in 2022. They delivered 15% of our annual target of 2.1 million doses, and these activities will continue to be difficult to implement in 2023 despite hopes that these shortages will ease. However, the Ethiopia team turned the challenge of the limited availability of antibiotics into an opportunity to redouble community outreach work, which takes eye care services close to where people live.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, Irish Aid, funded a three-year project that finished in 2022 and delivered impressive results. Among several successes, over 150,000 people were screened (against a target of 100,000), either in school, at community outreach or on their doorstep, significantly contributing to the reduction in avoidable blindness in the country. We are delighted to announce that towards the end of the year, Irish Aid confirmed they would continue to fund this project for a further three years (2023-2025).
We are working hard to build on our successes in 2022 with ambitious plans to scale up our work and with the fundraising infrastructure in place to help us achieve this. We aim to raise more money and deliver more sight‑saving training and treatments to the people of Ethiopia who live where eye care resources are scarce and difficult to access.
We are confident that together, we can get even closer to our ambition of creating a world where no one lives with avoidable vision loss simply because of where they were born. Thank you sincerely for your continued support.
With best wishes,
Clare O'Dea (Chair)
Orbis is an international charity and leader in the global fight against avoidable blindness for four decades. Orbis Ireland is an affiliate of Orbis International based in the USA. Along with six other affiliate offices, we work with other country offices to fund, develop, and implement local projects.
Orbis aims to create a world where no one lives with avoidable vision loss simply because of where they were born.
With over 1.1 billion people living with vision loss and 90% of cases preventable or treatable, Orbis operates a sustainable and scalable model to address this immense challenge, in which we:
Comprehensive eye care is about working with people throughout eye health systems – government officials, medical professionals in regional hospitals, staff in rural health centres and members of local communities – to provide eye care for people who need it, wherever they are.
In 2022, Orbis Ireland continued to focus our efforts on Ethiopia, where the prevalence of avoidable blindness from diseases like trachoma is one of the highest in the world.
Trachoma is a highly infectious eye condition that, if left untreated, can cause irreversible blindness. Globally, half of all people at risk of blinding Trachoma are in Ethiopia, where 40% of children in the country have active cases of the disease.
Trachoma can devastate people, families and communities. If left untreated, repeated trachoma infections can develop into trachoma trichiasis, where the eyelid turns inwards, scraping painfully against the cornea. Ultimately, it can lead to irreversible blindness.
Giving people in urgent need access to quality eye care remained challenging in 2022. Despite a global shortage of key antibiotics, the pandemic's continued impact, and ongoing donor budget cuts, our partners worked tirelessly to deliver our sight‑saving work.
We implement the World Health Organisation's SAFE Strategy to fight Trachoma in Ethiopia.
SAFE STRATEGY
Surgery
Antibiotics
Face washing
Environmental change
Orbis Ireland funds a project spanning 45 districts of rural Ethiopia with a population of 3.6 million. In 2022, with a global shortage of the antibiotic Zithromax required to treat trachoma infection, Orbis turned its efforts to other planned activities, ultimately exceeding these targets.
In 2022, Orbis Ireland raised €824,908 for our eye care projects in Ethiopia. Throughout the year, Orbis Ireland:
A % of total income
38%
Statutory Funding
33%
Events
20%
Individual Donations
9%
Corporate Partners
