Too many people live in areas that have access to little or no eye care. Unfortunately, without access to basic eye care - like the provision of antibiotics to treat eye infections, like trachoma - these people face a lifetime of blindness. And sadly, children are especially at risk of catching this disease. Fortunately, a low-cost antibiotic effectively prevents and treats this disease. With your support, Orbis can distribute this vital medication in Ethiopia, ensuring widespread availability.
Trachoma is one of the world's oldest infectious diseases. Globally 125 million people are at risk, and 42 countries are affected. Yet nearly half of the people at risk worldwide are in Ethiopia. Trachoma often starts in childhood, causing excruciating pain and eventual blindness if untreated. This blindness-poverty cycle hampers families as parents lose jobs, children drop out of school, and the impact is devastating. Your support can make a huge difference on one person's life.
Trachoma, although highly contagious, is easily treatable with antibiotics. By supporting this project, you become a driving force in delivering over 50,000 doses of antibiotics, ensuring treatment for the infected and protecting the uninfected from future transmission. In countries like Ethiopia, when sight is restored, it means so much. Not only for the individual but also for their family and the local economy, effectively breaking the chains of poverty.
Over the next three years, Orbis will distribute the antibiotic Zithromax to over 4.5 million people in southern Ethiopia and train over 3,500 local eye care workers to distribute the antibiotic safely and effectively. Through the treatment of trachoma infections and the prevention of its spread, these efforts will free communities from the grasp of trachoma, enabling the next generation to healthy and safe life, without the constant fear of blindness.
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