The end of river blindness!
Hot on the heels of our plans to eliminate trachoma, we reveal that river blindness is the next disease to get the boot.
The disease is spread by the bite of the black simulium fly which breeds by fast-flowing water. It causes unbearable itching and eventually leads to blindness, often driving whole villages away from the rivers and fertile land they rely on to survive. The World Health Organization estimated that 37 million people are currently infected with river blindness, and a further 140 million are at risk.
However evidence from the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC), Sightsavers’ key partner in fighting river blindness, has found that an annual dose of Mectizan® can break the cycle of infection if taken for a period of 15 to 17 years.
Drug distribution
Since 1987, a global pharmaceutical company called Merck & Co. Inc. has donated this drug free of charge which is fantastic, but one of the main challenges in tackling this disease is getting the treatment to remote communities. Sightsavers helped pioneer the community-based distribution system which trains volunteers from local communities to give out the drug. This is not only an effective way of working, as it ensures the maximum amount of people are reached, but is cost effective at just 5p to protect someone against river blindness for a whole year.
Ten year commitment
To achieve elimination, we have committed to increase these drug treatments to reach 30 million people a year, and to fund the training of 150,000 community distributors annually over the next ten years. We will also be supporting new programmes in neighbouring countries where the disease is endemic. This includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ivory Coast and Angola.
This commitment comes at an investment of £27 million over the next decade, but to be able to consign this devastating disease to medical history is nothing short of priceless.
What do you think?