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Thanks to you, in 2022…

It’s been another amazing year where we’ve been able to protect sight, fight disease and empower people with disabilities. Here, we share our highlights, all made possible by you.

December 2022
Professor Christopher Whitty.

January

Professor Chris Whitty, who has been a trustee on our board since 2017, was knighted in the New Year Honours for his role in tackling COVID-19. Sir Chris is the chief medical officer for England and regularly briefed the nation in televised press conferences during the pandemic.
How we congratulated Sir Chris

A group of men and women performing a traditional dance, accompanied by drummers.

January

A group of men and women performing a traditional dance, accompanied by drummers.
On 30 January, we celebrated World NTD Day to recognise progress in the fight against neglected tropical diseases. Alongside lively events, staff visited communities to identify people in need of treatment or attended training sessions. Thousands of people also showed their support online.
Read our highlights from around the world
A screengrab from the Put Us in the Picture website, featuring coloured sections labelled 'Travel to west Africa' and 'Write in braille'.

February

Sightsavers Ireland’s online workshop Put Us in the Picture won Not-for-Profit Website of the Year at Ireland’s National Digital Awards. The interactive workshop teaches schoolchildren about inclusive education and disability, helping them to learn what life is like in low income countries. Read about the award

Participants on stage at the 2018 Global Disability Summit

February

Participants on stage at the 2018 Global Disability Summit
Our petition calling on governments and organisations to attend the Global Disability Summit reached 30,143 signatures. The summit aimed to raise awareness about inclusive development and uphold the rights of people with disabilities. As the event was co-hosted by Norway, our colleague Øystein shared some useful disability-inclusive phrases in Norwegian on Twitter.
Tom, Emily, Rachel and Alyssa pose at the Charity Film Awards.

March

Two of Sightsavers’ short films won awards at the fifth Charity Film Awards, which commend the best films in the sector. Our campaign film ‘A message from students in Sierra Leone’ won gold in its category and our film celebrating trachoma elimination in The Gambia won a bronze award. Read the story and watch our award-winning films

A group of women wearing colourful headscarves smile and laugh during a puppet show in their community.

March

A group of women wearing colourful headscarves smile and laugh during a puppet show in their community.
On International Women’s Day, Sightsavers celebrated women’s rights and called for a world free from disability and discrimination. We shared stories about four inspiring women involved in our work and asked supporters on social media what this year’s theme #BreakTheBias meant to them.
How we celebrated the day
Dr Caroline Harper hands a cheque to Yannis Vardakastanis, president of IDA.

April

As part of a new partnership, Sightsavers gave International Disability Alliance (IDA) an unrestricted grant of US$1 million to help advance disability rights worldwide. The grant will enable IDA to increase its advocacy work, provide technical assistance and support people with disabilities.
Read about our work with IDA

A health care worker checks someone's eyes using examination equipment.

April

A health care worker checks someone's eyes using examination equipment.
A collection of papers written by researchers at Sightsavers was published by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The supplement, which featured in the journal International Health, explores eye health interventions, programmes and policies.
Read about the collection 

May

On Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we shared tips on how to make social media posts accessible. Accessibility and inclusion are at the heart of our work, and we aim to make everything we produce in print and online accessible to as many people as possible.
Read our Instagram post for accessibility tips

A middle aged woman gets her eyes tested.

May

A middle aged woman gets her eyes tested.
The World Health Organization published a new guide for countries working to deliver high-equality eye care services. Sightsavers’ senior global technical lead for eye health Sumrana Khan was part of the team that helped to develop it. Read the news story
Sightsavers CEO Caroline Harper smiles alongside two colleagues. She's holding a pen. In the background are some brightly lit skyscrapers.

June

At the Kigali Summit in Rwanda, Sightsavers’ CEO Caroline Harper pledged to invest US$25 million to help beat neglected tropical diseases in Africa over the next four years. The funding will help to protect millions of people from diseases like trachoma, river blindness and intestinal worms.
Read about the pledge

Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame and Mara Gabrilli.

June

Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame and Mara Gabrilli.
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame (pictured on the left), Sightsavers’ global advocacy manager for social inclusion, was re-elected to the UN disability committee that monitors the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Read about Getty’s nomination
A close-up of two people shaking hands.

July

We launched a short film about corporate partnerships that shares how important corporate partners are to Sightsavers and how organisations and companies can support our work to protect sight, tackle neglected tropical diseases and fight for disability rights.
Find out more about our corporate partnerships

Shahadeb post surgery, can see clearly and looks out of the window.

July

Shahadeb post surgery, can see clearly and looks out of the window.
In July, we thanked Sightsavers supporters for helping to raise money for childhood cataract operations. Our summer appeal shared the story of 10-year-old Shahadeb, who was at risk of losing his sight, independence and childhood to cataracts.
Read our past appeals
Co-founder Lady Jean smiles during an interview.

August

Lady Jean Wilson, who co-founded Sightsavers with her husband Sir John Wilson, celebrated her 100th birthday in August. Lady Jean and Sir John started Sightsavers in 1950 to help advance the rights of people with sight loss and remove the stigma around being blind in Africa.
How we celebrated on Instagram

The Queen smiles as she greets staff.

September

The Queen smiles as she greets staff.
Sightsavers mourned the loss of our patron Her Majesty the Queen and celebrated the impact of her legacy to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem in Africa. Our CEO Caroline Harper attended the state funeral on behalf of Sightsavers and wrote a blog about the service.
Vainesi smiles and claps outside her home in Malawi.

September

Malawi celebrated the announcement that trachoma has been eliminated as a public health problem. Sightsavers helped to launch the Malawi Trachoma Elimination Programme in 2014. Now 9.5 million people in the country are no longer at risk of losing their sight to the disease.
Read the news story

Ophthalmic nurse Suraju helps a young girl wash her hands using water from a teapot.

October

Ophthalmic nurse Suraju helps a young girl wash her hands using water from a teapot.
Sightsavers and the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene hosted an online event with experts from the Ascend programme to share key learnings on eliminating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Ascend was UK Aid’s flagship initiative to tackle five NTDs in 13 countries.
Learn about the event
Simon Bush.

October

Sightsavers director of neglected tropical diseases Simon Bush received a lifetime achievement award for his work to fight river blindness. Simon is the second person to receive the accolade, which was presented to him by the non-profit organisation United Front Against Riverblindness.
Read about Simon’s achievement

Mehnu stands outside and looks into the distance

November

Mehnu stands outside and looks into the distance
In late November, we launched our final appeal of the year, to help raise money for children like Mehnu. At five years old, Mehnu was struggling to learn how to read. Through our schools programme, Mehnu was able to attend a screening session, where he was diagnosed with cataracts.
Join our winter appeal

November

On 29 November, our generous supporters raised more than £70,000 during our Giving Tuesday appeal. Donations made on Giving Tuesday are matched and doubled so that individual gifts go twice as far, helping to treat many more schoolchildren like Zill, who featured in our appeal.
About the Giving Tuesday appeal

Giving Tuesday logo with text 'Official Partner'.
Epidemiologist Michael Dejene, who is collecting data on trachoma, crouches next to a woman who is sorting produce.

December

Epidemiologist Michael Dejene, who is collecting data on trachoma, crouches next to a woman who is sorting produce.
December marked 10 years since Sightsavers began using smartphones to collect data about trachoma. The Tropical Data project uses technology to survey areas where trachoma is endemic, so that countries can effectively focus their elimination efforts.
Read about Tropical Data

December

Sightsavers ended the year on another high by winning a Zero Project award for an inclusion project in Cameroon and Senegal. In collaboration with our partners, the project empowers people with disabilities in local governance and leadership by increasing access and participation.
More about the award

A woman sits talking on a mobile phone.

What else has Sightsavers achieved in the past year?

Read our news and blogs

Our latest stories

Three partners sit at a table with table name badges in front of them.
News / Education /

Cameroon approves landmark inclusive education policy

With Sightsavers’ support, the government of Cameroon has adopted a national policy to deliver quality and equitable inclusive education for people with disabilities.

November 2024
Carine, a council data collector, speaks to Godjon outside her home in Nkoteng, Cameroon.
News / Disability and inclusion /

Sightsavers joins global Commit to Data campaign

We’re excited to be part of the UN’s World Data Forum campaign, which calls for data to be used to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

November 2024
A woman wearing a surgical face mask holds two mobile phones while recording data about cataract operations in Nigeria.
News / Eye health /

Sightsavers trials technology to boost eye screening in Kenya

Peek Vision's innovative app aims to improve the country's eye health and ensure robust, continued care for people with visual impairments.

October 2024

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