The Countess of Wessex is set to visit Botswana and Malawi this week as part of her role as Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), a position she took following her personal experience with her daughter Lady Louise Windsor's rare eye condition.
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The royal, 57, will celebrate the remarkable progress that has been made by meeting people who have benefited from life-changing surgery and pioneering eye care programmes in order to mark World Sight Day. The official visit, Countess Sophie's first since 2017, is particularly close to her heart since her daughter Lady Louise was born with a rare eye condition called esotropia, which caused one eye to turn inwards.
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The now 18-year-old royal's eye condition compelled Countess Sophie to research blindness, a passion that led her to be named the Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
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She has raised awareness for several sight charities over the years, including Seeing Is Believing, blindness prevention charity Orbis UK and The Visions Foundation, which works to help people who are visually impaired.
Over one billion people live with preventable sight loss and in 2012, the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust (QEDJT) was launched, with the aim to end avoidable blindness across the Commonwealth and beyond.
© Photo: Getty ImagesCountess Sophie works with sight charities after her daughter's experience
During her visit to Botswana this week, Countess Sophie will hear about the nationwide government-led programme, Pono Yame (My Vision), which offers all school-going children in Botswana eye health screening, assessment and treatments, from glasses to surgeries.
She will also attend a Chevening and Commonwealth Scholars and Commonwealth Points of Light Reception, celebrating the academic and community-based accomplishments of young people, including athletes who recently took part in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
© Photo: Getty ImagesLady Louise was born with an eye condition called esotropia
Finally, on World Sight Day, Prince Edward's wife will join the national, annual celebrations in Malawi, and visit a local clinic to learn more about sight-saving surgeries and treatments.
Meanwhile, Lady Louise, who recently started at St Andrews University, has benefitted from life-changing procedures to correct her esotropia, which affects two per cent of the population.
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Lady Louise underwent two surgical procedures to correct her sight, the most recent in 2014 when she was 10 years old. "She's fine now – her eyesight is perfect," Sophie said.
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