Ending preventable blindness
Supporting long-term solutions to eliminate trachoma in Ethiopia
Pears Foundation has been more than a donor. It has been the enabler of NALA's growth and impact. Pears' consistent core support has allowed us to innovate and test approaches, moving from local pilots to national policies, and even to international influence.With our new SITE initiative, we are not only helping prevent blindness for more than 1.5 million people, we are also providing Ethiopia's Ministry of Health with the proof of concept needed to achieve sustainable trachoma elimination.Michal Bruck, CEO, NALA
The opportunity to eliminate trachoma is now within reach. What matters is ensuring that progress can be sustained. NALA's combination of technical expertise, strong partnerships and commitment to long-term prevention makes it well placed to help achieve that.Sir Trevor Pears
Partner since: 2013
Funding invested: £2.8m
- Core: Unrestricted funding
- Project: Trachoma elimination programme in Ethiopia
Some public health challenges require sustained commitment over many years. Trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, is one of the few diseases for which elimination is now within reach.
Neglected tropical diseases, including trachoma, schistosomiasis and intestinal worms, affect more than a billion people worldwide. They are most prevalent in rural communities, poor urban areas and conflict-affected regions, where they can cause severe and lifelong disability, including preventable blindness.
Pears Foundation has partnered with NALA (Neglected Tropical Diseases Advocacy, Learning and Action) since 2013. NALA works alongside communities, government and local partners to eliminate neglected tropical diseases by improving water, sanitation and hygiene, promoting behaviour change and strengthening local health systems. Today its work reaches millions of people in Ethiopia and beyond, working alongside communities, government and local partners.
In 2026, Pears Foundation committed to support SITE (Sustainable Innovative Trachoma Elimination), an ambitious five-year initiative to eliminate trachoma across more than ten districts in Ethiopia.
According to the World Health Organization, Ethiopia continues to carry the world’s highest burden of trachoma, accounting for around 59% of global cases. At the same time, reductions in international development funding have increased the importance of sustainable, locally led approaches that can protect the significant progress already made.
Recognising the risk of disease returning as external funding reduces, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health approached NALA to develop a prevention-focused model for districts where infection rates have fallen below 10%, but where communities remain vulnerable to renewed outbreaks if support is withdrawn too soon.
The SITE initiative combines school and community outreach, hygiene promotion, rehabilitation of water and sanitation infrastructure, strengthening local health systems and operational research to evaluate and refine the model over time. Over the next five years it is expected to reach more than 1.5 million people, particularly women and young children, who are among those most vulnerable to trachoma.
For rural families, the benefits are immediate and practical: children can stay healthy and attend school, mothers are protected from preventable blindness, and communities are better able to work, care for one another and thrive.
Alongside programme funding, Pears Foundation has provided long-term core funding to help NALA strengthen the organisation itself. This investment has enabled NALA to develop its leadership, build partnerships with organisations including Sightsavers International and adapt its work in response to changing circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our partnership with NALA reflects our belief that lasting progress depends not only on effective programmes, but on investing in organisations with deep local knowledge, trusted relationships and the capacity to lead change over the long term.