Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, Light for the World is one of the key players in eye health, disability inclusion, economic empowerment, and inclusive education. We have been supporting our programme implementing partners since 2004. In 2010, we registered as an international NGO and established a country office to better coordinate financial and technical support to our partners.

We enable eye health services 

We help strengthen the health system by providing supplies/consumables and ophthalmic equipment to different facilities. We train eye care professionals to provide quality services. Through our child eye health programme, and notably through the “1,2,3 I can see!” programme, we enable children with low vision to unleash their potential in school.  Currently, we support seven eye health project partners in the Amhara; Tigray; Southern Nations, Nationalities, Peoples’ Region; Addis Ababa city administration and Oromia Regional State.    

We tackle Neglected Tropical Diseases  

Light for the World is a major player in the elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) such as trachoma, river blindness, and lymphatic filariasis in Ethiopia. We support two large NTD programmes in West Oromia and Tigray, providing technical, financial, monitoring and coordination support. Our cross-cutting strategy involves mass drug administration, community sensitisation programmes and health education for positive behaviour initiatives that together aim to prevent and eliminate NTDs as a public health problem.  

We champion inclusive education 

We support 16 projects with 14 implementing partners who are working in 144 schools to make sure children with disabilities have proper access to education. In the 2020/21 school year, 3,000 children with disabilities were enrolled in school both in Southern Nation, Nationalities, and People (SNNPR) and the Amhara Regional States. Disability Inclusion Community Development (DICD) projects are the backbone of our inclusive education programme. They dismantle discrimination and promote integration at the community level, empowering children with disabilities and their families and paving the way for these children to go to school.  

We promote inclusive economic empowerment 

We believe that adults and young people with disabilities, including families of children with disabilities, should be able to live a dignified life free of poverty. We encourage young people with disabilities to participate in marketable and job-driven inclusive community-based skills training (CBST) to successfully set up and run their own businesses. Our interventions are evidence-based and scalable. Together with Organisations of People with Disabilities (OPDs), our Disability Inclusion Facilitators (DIFs) enable mainstream organisations and government offices to provide inclusive economic empowerment programmes. Light for the World is recognised as an expert in inclusive economic empowerment in Ethiopia.