Our history

Sightsavers was founded in England in the 1950s by Sir John Wilson, with the express aim of restoring sight – wherever possible – in developing countries. Today, working with local partners in more than 30 countries, Sightsavers is supporting the treatment of 3,000,000 people a year – including providing over 250,000 cataract operations.

The U.S. Sightsavers International organization, established in 2000, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization; donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. U.S. Sightsavers International is affiliated with Sightsavers International, a group of organizations working together with partners in over 30 countries. In addition to providing medical operations and care to prevent blindness, Sightsavers also provides services to the blind and campaigns for the eradication of needless blindness.

The Sightsavers challenge

If greater action is not taken to reduce blindness, the number of blind people in the world will increase from 44 million in 2000 to 76 million by 2020, according to estimates.  

The economic cost of this blindness is immense, and developing countries could potentially achieve a boost of over $300 billion in economic productivity over the next 20 years if they adopt appropriate measures to reduce blindness.  

Sightsavers will continue working closely with partners around the world to contribute to our goal of eliminating avoidable blindness. We will also be calling for international action to include children who are blind in mainstream education. This is essential if the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015 is to be achieved.