Heroes of Orbis: Dr. Alemayehu Sisay M.D.

Senior ophthalmologist Dr. Alemayehu Sisay is currently the Country Director of Orbis International in Ethiopia and one of the leading trachoma experts globally. He has been a pivotal member of the Orbis family since 2003 when he came onboard as a Program Manager.

Dr. Sisay has been a strong proponent of comprehensive eye care to alleviate the major causes of avoidable visual impairment and blindness in developing countries.

He’s deeply passionate about eliminating trachoma and making cataract surgical services accessible and affordable to communities who need it the most.

Dr. Sisay speaking to Optometry Today about trachoma elimination successes in Ethiopia

Skills & Expertise

Dr. Sisay leads Orbis's fight against avoidable blindness in Ethiopia

Dr. Sisay received his Doctor of Medicine and Certificate of Ophthalmology from Addis Ababa University in 2004, and his Master of Public Health in 2008 from Addis Continental Institute of Public Health and University of Gondar.

Overall, Dr. Alemayehu has over 20 years of experience in clinical and public health practices in Ethiopia and globally, and has rich expertise in project development, program management, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, and strategic leadership in eye care.

His day-to-day work spans from community level engagement to prevent and treat trachoma to the establishment of tertiary eye institutes to address paediatric ophthalmology and other subspecialty eye care services.

Orbis's Zada Health Centre in the rural area of Dita Woreda, Ethiopia

Orbis's Zada Health Centre in the rural area of Dita Woreda, Ethiopia

Eliminating Trachoma

1.8 million have been left visually impaired by trachoma

Dr. Sisay is passionate towards Trachoma control and elimination and leads one of the largest trachoma elimination operations in Ethiopia which touches the lives of over 11 million people annually.

He also provides technical and managerial support to a program that delivers tens of thousands of Trachoma Trichotamous surgeries annually.

Over the years, Dr. Alemayehu has led trachoma control projects including Mass Antibiotic Distribution (Azithromycin) and the implementation of the other SAFE strategy interventions with various stakeholders. An important part of his role is providing training to mid-level health workers such as integrated eye care workers, community health agents, women group leaders and teachers on primary eye care as well as developing training materials to fight the spread of the most infectious cause of blindness worldwide.

Participated in eye care initiatives at national level with other key stakeholders; facilitated preventive and curative activities for the prevention and control of blinding eye diseases.

He once told us: "I envision a world where no one is blind from this preventable infectious disease! That is my true passion!"

Dr. Alemayehu Sisay M.D.

Country Director of Orbis International in Ethiopia

I envi­sion a world where no one is blind from this pre­ventable infec­tious dis­ease! That is my true passion!

Speaking about the future of eye care in Ethiopia, Dr. Sisay once told Optometry Today: "I believe that we will eradicate trachoma. Trachoma is the leading infectious disease and Ethiopia has the highest burden of it in the world – more than 46% of the global trachoma burden is in Ethiopia. A significant achievement in recent years has been the location of resources for eliminating blinding trachoma from Ethiopia, with the Government committing to an annual budget to help fight this. I believe that with the current momentum, we will eliminate trachoma in the coming years.

"Understanding the value of eye care is increasing and people are demanding a better eye care service now. By investing in eye care, we are contributing to Orbis achieving sustainable development goals – without eye care, without vision, the vicious cycle of poverty and blindness is there.

"It requires a long-term investment, it requires behavioural change, it requires community and public awareness, and decision-makers taking responsibility. So yes, we have created a momentum, but it is not yet done. People are ageing and life expectancy is increasing, so we have an increased change of experiencing eye care issues. We have a growing ageing population and with that comes age-related macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma. As a result, the demographic change of eye care diseases from infectious to non-infectious is mounting, so there is a lot of work still to be done."

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