Sightsavers is a charity that provides medical treatments mostly regarding blindness and visual impairment to poor individuals. Sightsavers operates in more than 30 countries in Africa and Asia and has conducted more than 8.8 million cataract surgeries since its founding in 1950. ¹

Sightsavers has received funding from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. ²

Sightsavers is based in the United Kingdom but has an independent American branch. Sightsavers has more than 800 staff around the world. ³

History

In 1950, John Wilson, a British lawyer blinded in a chemistry experiment, founded the British Empire Society for the Blind to support the “education, rehabilitation and welfare” of blind people in six countries. ⁴

In 1956, the organization changed its name to the Commonwealth Society for the Blind. ⁵ In 1957, the organization was renamed to the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind. ⁶ In 1986, the organization was renamed Sightsavers. ⁷

In 2013, Sightsavers launched its first “policy campaign,” entitled “Put Us in the Picture,” which demanded that global development initiatives include blind people in their objectives. A petition signed by 20,000 individuals was delivered to the U.K. prime minister. ⁸

In 2017, Sightsavers conducted its one billionth treatment for “neglected tropical diseases.” ⁹

In 2020, Sightsavers launched the Ascend Program to combat alleged misinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in west and central Africa. ¹⁰

In 2021, Sightsavers launched the Equal World campaign which collected 21,000 supporters from 119 countries encouraging “inclusive education for children with disabilities, particularly girls.” ¹¹

Disability and Inclusion

Sightsavers promotes “inclusion” for individuals with disabilities. Sightsavers encourages low-income countries to provide resources to support disabled individuals with education, healthcare, employment, and political engagement, including voting. ¹²

Leadership

Sightsavers has a global board, as well as boards for the Sightsavers branches in the United States, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden, and Zambia. ¹³

Princess Alexandra, a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, has been the president of Sightsavers since 1960. ¹⁴

Caroline Harper has been the chief executive officer of Sightsavers since 2005. Harper previously worked for British Gas and the Hess Corporation and then founded her own firm specializing in the sale of energy companies. In 2023, Harper earned £167,671 (about $210,000) from Sightsavers. ¹⁵

Funding

Sightsavers has received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Virgin Unite, the ELMA Foundation, the European Commission, Hellen Keller International, U.S. AID, the GiveWell Recommended Fund, the END Fund, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and Jersey Overseas Aid. ¹⁶

The late Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was a patron of Sightsavers from 1957 until her death in 2022. ¹⁷

Controversies

In 2018, a scandal gripped Oxfam after revelations that Oxfam employees had sexual relations with aid recipients in Haiti during earthquake relief efforts. In 2020, the United Kingdom banned sexual relations between government workers and aid recipients; however, the ban did not apply to private contractors like Sightsavers. Sightsavers has been criticized for not implementing the same policy though Sightsavers prohibits “any form of exploitative or abusive relationship with a beneficiary.” ^{18 19}

In December 2022, the Indian government asked Sightsavers to cease soliciting donations from the Indian people since the organization was operating “against the spirit” of the government, which was providing treatments to blind citizens for free. ²⁰

1. “About Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/about-us/.
2. Scott, Makenzie. “Helping Any of Us Can Help Us All.” Medium. March 23, 2022. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/helping-any-of-us-can-help-us-all-f4c7487818d9.
3. “Jobs at Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/jobs/.
4. “The history of Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/our-story/.
5. “The history of Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/our-story/.
6. “The history of Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/our-story/.
7. “The history of Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/our-story/.
8. “The history of Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/our-story/.
9. ^[1] “The history of Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/our-story/.
10. “The history of Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/our-story/.
11. “The history of Sightsavers.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/our-story/.
12. “Disability and Inclusion.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/disability-and-inclusion/.
13. “How Sightsavers is Run.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsavers.org/how-were-run/.
14. “Our Royal Ambassadors.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/how-were-run/our-royal-ambassadors/.
15. “Meet our chief executive, Caroline Harper.” Sightsaver. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsavers.org/how-were-run/meet-our-ceo/.
16. “Annual Report 2020.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsavers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Sightsavers-Global-Annual-Report-2020.pdf.
17. “Our Royal Ambassadors.” Sightsavers. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.sightsaversusa.org/how-were-run/our-royal-ambassadors/.
18. Boycott-Owen, Mason. “Top foreign aid charity refuses to ban sex with recipients despite Oxfam scandal.” Telegraph. December 12, 2020. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/12/12/top-foreign-aid-charity-refuses-ban-sex-recipients-despite-oxfam/#:~:text=An%20investigation%20by%20the%20Telegraph,with%20those%20who%20receive%20aid.
19. Boyctott-Owen, Mason. “Aid group refuses no-sex clause for workers.” Sunday Telegraph. December 13, 2020. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-sunday-telegraph/20201213/281865826058654.
20. “Modi Govt Warns 2 NGOs Seeking Donations From Citizens, Letters Show.” Article 14. December 29, 2022. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://article-14.com/post/modi-govt-warns-2-ngos-seeking-donations-from-citizens-letters-show-63acfab0a50be.