River blindness in Nigeria
River blindness, or onchocerciasis, is a major cause of blindness in Africa: around 35 million people are currently infected, and approximately 140 million people are at risk of infection.
Sightsavers is working to combat the disease in Nigeria, through distributing an annual dose of the drug Mectizan®.
The term ‘river blindness’ was coined by our founder Sir John Wilson, because it is spread by the bite of the black fly that breeds by the oxygen-high fast-flowing rivers people rely on for washing, drinking and farming.
It has been identified by the World Health Organization as a neglected tropical disease (NTD), ‘neglected’ because they aren’t mentioned in the Millennium Development Goals. This means they often aren’t included in important development discussions, and don’t receive the attention or funding they need. These diseases affect the poorest and most marginalized communities on the planet, and thrive on conditions of poverty so it is a vicious cycle.
As well as eventually leading to blindness, other symptoms are skin nodules and discolouration, and unbearable itching.
See a gallery of images below, taken by photojournalist Kate Holt who travelled to Nigeria to see our river blindness work. These images have been displayed online by the BBC in a story to illustrate the scale of the diseases in African countries.
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