Fighting disease

An eye health worker checks a man's eyes for signs of trachoma.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

How Mali overcame three big challenges and eliminated trachoma

Sightsavers’ Boubacar Morou Dicko shares the obstacles Mali faced on the road to eliminating trachoma, and how the country was able to overcome them.

May 2023
A man smiles at the camera.
News / Fighting disease /

Benin and Mali become the latest countries to eliminate trachoma

Both countries’ achievements have been validated by the World Health Organization, meaning they join a growing list of countries to have banished the disease.

May 2023
Sightsavers CEO CAroline Harper during her TED Talk, standing in front of large red letters spelling TED.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

My TED talk helped to protect millions of people from trachoma. Now you can help make history

In 2018, Sightsavers CEO Caroline Harper took to the TED stage to talk about the importance of eliminating trachoma. Since then, 14 million people have been protected from the disease, but further progress hangs in the balance.

April 2023
Simon Bush.
News / Fighting disease /

Sightsavers director rewarded for his work on neglected tropical diseases

Sightsavers’ Simon Bush has received a lifetime achievement award for his work on river blindness, and has been named president of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

October 2022
Samson Lokele in Kenya.
Stories / Fighting disease /

“I was the first trachoma surgeon in my region”

Meet Samson, a trachoma surgeon who’s saving people’s sight by performing pop-up operations and outreach in remote communities in Kenya.

Four men sit on the back of a white truck with a Sightsavers logo on the door. They're driving through a dusty road in Mali, with trees on either side.
Stories / Fighting disease /

The last mile: paving the way to eliminating river blindness in Mali

Since 1991, Sightsavers been helping Mali’s ministry of health to treat and prevent this blinding disease. Now the country is on track to banish it for good.

Six schoolchildren sit on the floor around a board game that they're playing.
Stories / Fighting disease /

Captain Clean: teaching children about hygiene through games

Schools in Kenya, Ethiopia and Guinea are using educational board games to teach children about the importance of good hygiene to help eliminate trachoma.

Two women stand in a flooded area outside a house, where they are checking a mosquito trap.
Stories / Fighting disease /

Catching the urban mosquito: how our research protects communities from NTDs

To tackle disease, we need to know who is affected. In Liberia, Sightsavers has studied mosquitoes and tested children to see how urban migration affects the spread of lymphatic filariasis.

Salifat smiles at the camera
Stories / Fighting disease /

“I’m able to do things I couldn’t do before”

Salifat experienced painful swelling in her leg for a year before she was visited by a local health worker, who told her she had lymphatic filariasis and taught her to manage her symptoms.

A man stands in a fast-flowing river examining foliage for black flies.
News / Fighting disease /

Sightsavers partnership aims to research the impact of climate change on NTDs

Sightsavers and the Walker Institute will explore different climate change scenarios to predict areas that will be most affected by neglected tropical diseases in the future.

March 2022
A screengrab from a video chat, showing Alyssa Marriner and Cosmas Ejong.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

How can deworming change the world?

Ndellejong Cosmas Eljong, Sightsavers’ technical adviser for schistosomiasis and intestinal worms, tells us via video about his work to fight parasitic worm infections and how deworming can have a huge impact on communities around the world.

November 2021
In Cameroon, a schoolboy in a classroom has a drink of water after taking deworming medication.
Stories / Fighting disease /

“I don’t have a tummy ache any more!”

Hear first-hand how Sightsavers is working with GiveWell to control intestinal worms and schistosomiasis, two devastating diseases that affect thousands of children in Cameroon.

A large group of people hold a banner that celebrates the launch of the first cross-border mass drug administration for trachoma.
News / Fighting disease /

First cross-border treatments for trachoma are distributed in Kenya and Uganda

On 21 October 2021, teams in key districts on both sides of the Kenyan-Ugandan border began a mass drug distribution campaign to fight the disease.

November 2021
two surgeons work on a patient.
News / Fighting disease /

Thousands of people in Africa get sight-saving surgery

In three years, Sightsavers’ Accelerate programme has supported governments in 12 countries to provide eye surgery to 37,000 people.

June 2021
Stories / Fighting disease /

“Taking photos helps people to understand our problems”

People in Nigeria with diseases affecting the skin have shared their photos as part of a research project into how these conditions can be better managed.

The Countess of Wessex on a video call with key representatives involved in the elimination of trachoma in The Gambia. All participants are clapping their hands in celebration.
News / Fighting disease /

Countess of Wessex hails trachoma elimination in The Gambia

In a video call, the Countess congratulated key representatives who helped The Gambia to reach this milestone.

April 2021
A large group of women dance and clap while celebrating the elimination of trachoma in The Gambia.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

Trachoma elimination in The Gambia: sustaining the success story

Sightsavers directors Balla Musa and Phil Downs reflect on what this achievement means for The Gambia, and how other countries can learn from the experience.

April 2021
A large group of women dance and clap while celebrating the elimination of trachoma in The Gambia.
News / Fighting disease /

Trachoma is eliminated in The Gambia

The Gambia has become the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate the potentially blinding disease, as confirmed by the World Health Organization.

April 2021
Caroline Harper, CEO of Sightsavers, holding a dose pole.
News / Fighting disease /

Dr Caroline Harper wins the first Hemingway Award

Sightsavers’ CEO was recognised for her work to help eliminate trachoma by transforming the way funding is secured.

November 2019
Samson Lokele poses next to his image in the Science Museum exhibition.
News / Fighting disease /

Sightsavers’ pioneering work is showcased in new Science Museum exhibition

Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries is the world’s largest medical gallery and will be on display for at least 30 years.

November 2019
Samson Lokele talks to Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.
News / Fighting disease /

The Queen hosts reception celebrating progress to eliminate trachoma

Staff gathered at Buckingham Palace in the UK to recognise the achievements of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust’s Trachoma Initiative.

October 2019
An eye health worker uses a torch while checking a man's eyes for trachoma.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

What we’ve learned from trachoma elimination in Ghana

Sarah Bartlett discusses Sightsavers’ involvement in this milestone, what we’ve learned from the experience and the work that lies ahead.

September 2018
Caroline Harper speaks at TED2018.
News / Fighting disease /

Trachoma talk from Sightsavers’ CEO named ‘TED of the Day’

Dr Caroline Harper's TED Talk, in which she laid out an ambitious plan to eliminate trachoma, has been chosen as the day’s top pick.

June 2018
An eye health worker uses a torch while checking a man's eyes for trachoma.
News / Fighting disease /

Trachoma is eliminated in Ghana

Ghana has become the first country in sub-Saharan Africa and the Commonwealth to eliminate trachoma, as validated by the World Health Organization.

June 2018
Professor Stephen Hawking at the Sightsavers celebration of a billion NTD treatments.
News / Fighting disease /

Stephen Hawking commends his father’s role in tackling NTDs

Professor Hawking spoke at Sightsavers’ event to mark the one billionth treatment for neglected tropical diseases: watch the full video of his speech here.

December 2017
A photo of two hands. In one hand there are three tablets.
News / Fighting disease /

Scientists win Nobel prize for river blindness discovery

William C Campbell and Satoshi Omura discovered a group of compounds known as avermectins, used to treat and prevent river blindness.

October 2015
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