A landmark achievement in the fight against river blindness!
Sightsavers has reached its 150 millionth Mectizan® treatments distributed – a fantastic achievement in the fight against river blindness.
River blindness is caused by a small black fly that lives by fast-flowing rivers. Its larvae spread throughout the body when someone is bitten, causing terrible itching. If the larvae reach the eye and then die, the body’s reaction causes inflammation and blindness. Around 35 million people are currently infected with river blindness, and roughly 300,000 of them are already irreversibly blind.
But the disease can be prevented with an annual dose of Mectizan® (ivermectin), which has been donated by pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc. since 1987. The cost of donating the drug works out at approximately 5p per person.
Deepak Khanna, Managing Director of Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (MSD) commented: “This amazing milestone is an opportunity to thank Sightsavers for the support and commitment it has provided to the Mectizan® Donation Programme. As a result of this partnership, the sight of millions of people in some of the most disadvantaged countries is being protected and the Programme is recognised as a model of a successful and sustainable developing world health initiative."
Twenty-year-old Mary Muntari (pictured above) from Kaduna State in Nigeria understands the importance of taking an annual dose of the drug. Mary and her husband Muntari Maiwada live in Akwandor Village, and have been taking Mectizan® for the last four years. Their family live close to a river, and rely on it for things like washing, drinking and bathing.
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