00:00As Global Ambassador of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, I'm
00:04in Ethiopia this week to mark World Sight Day with the eye care charity Orbis, to hear
00:09about trachoma elimination programmes that are running here in partnership with the Ethiopian
00:15Government and to see the transformational eye care services being delivered.
00:19Trachoma is an eye disease that has been around for thousands of years.
00:23It is an incredibly painful eye condition, which if left untreated often leads to blindness.
00:29But with surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness and access to clean water, sanitation and eye
00:35care services, we can defeat trachoma.
00:38Our aim is to eliminate trachoma by 2030.
00:42Trachoma has no place in our modern world and there is so much hard work being done here
00:47and across the globe by multiple partner agencies, including Orbis, to achieve our ambition.
00:52World Sight Day reminds us all how important eye health is and how sometimes we can take
00:58this important sense for granted.
01:00It's also an opportunity to stress that early, timely intervention often means preventable
01:06or treatable conditions will not lead to sight loss.
01:10We have made formidable inroads, but we must not let our progress blind us from what is further
01:15required to eliminate preventable blindness by ensuring eye care services are available
01:20for all across the globe.
01:22Let us continue to celebrate, invest in and guarantee sight.
01:27Happy World Sight Day.
01:28Happy World Sight Day.
01:28Happy World Sight Day.
01:29Happy World Sight Day.
01:29Happy World Sight Day.
01:29Happy World Sight Day.
01:29Happy World Sight Day.
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