Last updated June 2024

We have been working to prevent blindness and restore sight in Kenya since 2007 and now have programs covering 148 villages across nine districts and counties.

2023 Highlights

In Kenya, our 2023 programs had a strong focus on infrastructure improvements. We are working collaboratively with the departments of health across eight counties, to find solutions that meet the needs of the target communities.

Our county partners are dedicated to providing resources to accomplish the project goals – whether it be providing financial resources and adequate space for new eye health facilities, or redistributing staff among government facilities to meet the growing demand for eye health services.

Together with the Kajiado County Department of Health, we established the Kajiado Eye Unit, constructed in partnership with CBM Christian Blind Mission under the Vision Impact Project (VIP). The Eye Unit has seen more than a 30 per cent increase in service utilization since its inauguration.

In Kajiado South, also under the VIP, we expanded the Loitokitok sub-county hospital from a single-room clinic to a fully equipped three-room clinic. We also equipped the sub-county hospital clinics at Kitengela and Ngong, in addition to meeting the specific equipment needs of other hospital partners.

We constructed an eye operation theatre at the eye unit at Iten County Referral Hospital and provided the hospital with a slit lamp, used for eye exams. Through a cost-sharing initiative with the county health department, a pharmacy was also established at the eye unit, so patients can access all services under one roof.

We established a new vision centre in Ogembo in partnership with the Kisii Eye Hospital Centre. The hospital renovated the space, and we provided the equipment. Seeing a low uptake of services at the new vision centre, we decided to conduct a survey in the surrounding community, to better understand the community’s needs and identify the barriers to seeking care. Based on our learnings, we modified our approach, which led to more people seeking the vision centre’s services. This underscored our community-based approach and ability to remain nimble when implementing projects that are impactful and sustainable.

In addition to infrastructure improvements, we continued our community outreach programs. In partnership with the Ministries of Health and Education, and with support from the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Child Blindness Program as well as CBM Christian Blind Mission through VIP, we screened nearly 70,000 students across 265 schools. As a result, 2,062 people received a pair of prescription eyeglasses.

We had planned to conduct a mass drug administration (MDA) in Narok County, to distribute antibiotics to prevent trachoma, a blinding eye disease. Unfortunately, heavy rainfall and other unforeseen delays forced us to postpone the MDA to January 2024. Finally, we secured funding from two partners to conduct research projects on the management of presbyopia (the inability to focus on close-up objects due to aging). We look forward to sharing our findings with our global community.

78,839

Eye exams

7,468

Sight-saving surgeries

8,794

Pairs of eyeglasses dispensed

274,306

People screened through door-to-door survey

69,891

Students screened through school eye health programs

90,747

Eye exams

5,750

Sight-saving surgeries

4,295

Pairs of eyeglasses dispensed

20

Villages declared Avoidable Blindness-Free

1 million+

People educated on eye health

75,110

People screened through door-to-door survey

40,923

Students screened through school eye health programs

Learn more about our work in Kenya in 2022.

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