About Ethiopia
Ethiopia is home to around 135 million people, with vast rural areas where access to essential health services can be limited.
Poor vision has a significant impact on individuals, families and the wider economy. An estimated 8.8 million people in Ethiopia live with vision loss, with poor vision estimated to cost the country around US $428 million in lost productivity each year.
Oromia is the country’s most populous region and is home to more than 27 million people living in areas where trachoma is endemic. It is also a major focus for expanding access to comprehensive eye care.
The eye health challenge in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has one of the world's highest burdens of avoidable blindness, but access to quality eye care remains limited, particularly for people living in rural and underserved communities.
Limited access to services
Ethiopia's vast rural population can face long distances and significant barriers to reaching eye care. In Oromia, more than 27 million people live in trachoma-endemic areas.
Shortage of eye health workers
Ethiopia has only 1.2 ophthalmologists per million people, compared with the WHO recommendation of four per million.
Limited infrastructure and equipment
Many rural health facilities lack the equipment, medicines and infrastructure needed to provide quality eye care close to where people live.
Underfunded health services
Chronic underfunding leaves eye care under-resourced, making it harder to expand services and reach people in areas with the greatest need.
Strengthening eye health in Oromia
The barriers to eye care in Ethiopia are not only about distance. Shortages of trained health workers, equipment, infrastructure and funding can limit the availability and quality of services, particularly in rural areas.
Ethiopia has around 1.2 ophthalmologists per million people, compared with the World Health Organization's recommended four per million.
Many rural hospitals also lack essential equipment, medicines and other resources needed to provide quality eye care.
The Foundation is a long-term partner of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and supports the implementation of Ethiopia's National Eye Health Strategic Plan 2024–2026.
Together with government and local partners, we are helping strengthen the foundations of a more accessible and sustainable eye health system.
Our work in Ethiopia
The Foundation works primarily in Oromia, supporting government-led efforts to expand access to eye care and eliminate trachoma. Our approach combines treatment with workforce development, stronger health facilities and better access to the equipment, supplies and technology needed to deliver quality care.
Treat
We help bring sight-saving and sight-restoring treatment, including cataract and advanced trachoma surgery, closer to rural communities, aiming to treat 165,000 people and halve Ethiopia’s cataract backlog by 2030.
Train
We support training for ophthalmologists, eye health workers, community health workers and other health professionals to identify, treat and manage eye conditions, aiming to train 4,985 people by 2030 and build a skilled workforce to deliver quality eye care closer to where people live.
Equip
We work with government and health partners to strengthen eye health facilities and improve access to the infrastructure, equipment, medicines and technology needed to deliver quality eye care, particularly in rural areas.
Eliminate
Working with government and partners, we support the World Health Organization’s SAFE strategy (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement) to stop trachoma spreading and help end the disease for 18 million people at risk in Oromia by 2030.
Building a stronger eye health system
Lasting change requires more than delivering individual treatments. It means strengthening the systems that allow eye care to reach people consistently and sustainably.
Our work supports:
- Coordinated outreach services that bring eye care closer to rural communities.
- Hospital upgrades and improved access to equipment, medicines and technology.
- Training to build the future eye health workforce.
- Government-led integration of eye health into primary health care and schools.
- Better systems for planning, coordinating and delivering eye care.
- Approaches that consider gender equality, disability and social inclusion.
By working alongside the Ethiopian Government and local health partners, we aim to help build an eye health system that can continue to reach people long into the future.
Our 2030 vision for Ethiopia
By 2030, we aim to help halve the cataract backlog and eliminate trachoma in Oromia through proven, cost-effective solutions, including coordinated outreach, stronger health facilities and workforce training, with government leadership helping integrate eye health into existing health and education systems for sustainable, long-term impact.
165,000 people
Help halve the cataract backlog through sight-restoring treatment.
4,985 people
Train the future eye health workforce.
18 million people
Help end trachoma for people at risk across Oromia.
Stronger eye care
Improve eye health infrastructure, supplies, equipment and technology.
Transforming eye health for millions
Ethiopia faces one of the world's highest burdens of avoidable blindness. With 8.8 million people living with vision loss, more than one million people waiting for cataract treatment and the highest number of trachoma cases globally, the need is urgent.
But there is also an opportunity for lasting change. Strategic investment can help expand eye care in Oromia, strengthen the eye health workforce and reach millions of people who currently cannot access the treatment they need.
Explore our Ethiopia Country Impact Plan.
Discover the opportunity to invest in a stronger eye health system and help transform access to sight-saving care across Ethiopia.
Bashadu's sight restored
For years, Bashadu, from Ethiopia's Oromia region, struggled with severe vision loss.
After an illness left her unable to work, cataract gradually took away her sight. Unable to afford treatment or travel to access care, she became increasingly dependent on her daughter and neighbours to help her move around and manage everyday life.
Then Bashadu was reached through an outreach visit led by the Oromia Regional Health Bureau, with support from the University of Jimma and The Fred Hollows Foundation.
Cataract surgery restored her sight.
Now Bashadu can walk to church on her own, tend to her home and take part in her community again.
Bashadu's story shows what can happen when sight-saving care reaches people who have previously been unable to access it.
Being independent is important to me.
In 2025, The Foundation and its partners made great progress in key strategic areas in Africa:
3,002,237
People screened.
12,762,789
People treated with antibiotics for trachoma.
20,345
Pairs of glasses distributed.
171
Facilities built, equipped or renovated.
26,295
People trained including community health workers, surgeons and teachers.
225,203
Eye operations and treatments performed including cataract operations, surgeries to treat trachoma, diabetic retinopathy treatments and other sight saving or improving interventions.
1,802,177
School children and community members educated in eye health and sanitation.
The countries in Africa that The Foundation works in are Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Cameroon.
Looking ahead
Ethiopia has a significant eye health challenge, but it also has the foundations for change.
Through strong government partnerships, a growing eye health workforce and proven approaches to disease elimination and systems strengthening, there is an opportunity to expand access to quality eye care for millions of people.
The Foundation is working with the Ethiopian Government and local partners to help make that change possible, so more people can access the eye care they need, wherever they live.
Read more about our impact in Ethiopia
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