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Fighting disease

A man wearing a mask gives a demonstration to distributors in a school classroom.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

COVID-19 and NTD innovation

RAMA is a new risk assessment and mitigation action tool enabling us and government partners to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19 and restart treatment.

Phil Downs, October 2020
Two trachoma patients wearing traditional clothing standing next to a vehicle in a landscape in Kenya.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

Leaving no one behind in development programming

Moses Chege, Sightsavers Kenya country director, explains how Sightsavers and partners were able to reach the worst-affected people suffering from trachoma.

Moses Chege, October 2020
A volunteer drug distributor washing hands washes someone's hands.
News / Fighting disease /

Trachoma treatments resume in Nigeria after COVID-19 lockdown

Nigeria is the first Sightsavers-supported country to resume treatments for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) since April due to COVID-19.

September 2020
A volunteer inspects a baby's eyes for signs of trachoma.
News / Fighting disease /

Commonwealth Fund protects 10 million people from trachoma

Sightsavers and partners delivered 11.7 million trachoma treatments and carried out nearly 32,000 trichiasis surgeries in two years under the Commonwealth Fund.

September 2020
A community volunteer distributed treatment to protect against neglected tropical diseases to a woman.
News / Fighting disease /

Health programme exceeds several first-year targets

A Sightsavers-led programme in Africa has surpassed several of its first-year targets as it delivers more than 127 million drug treatments for five debilitating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

September 2020
The Tropical Data team working on trachoma surveys in Arusha in 2019.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

Q&A with Sarah Boyd: how we are moving Tropical Data forward through COVID-19

We speak to Tropical Data’s data analyst, Sarah Boyd, to find out what she and the team have been working on while travel hasn’t been possible and many of us have been advised to stay at home.

Sightsavers, August 2020
Stories / Fighting disease /

Working together to tackle NTDs in Liberia

In the first year of the programme, the Ascend West and Central Africa partners have supported health workers and volunteers to deliver mass treatment campaigns that will help tackle high rates of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Liberia.

Four-year-old Paolo stands smiling in a doorway.
Stories / Fighting disease /

Paolo's story

Paolo's family could not understand why he kept having problems with his eyes. Thankfully, training for a Sightsavers-supported programme was taking place nearby.

A man sits in an office wearing a face covering
Stories / Fighting disease /

Reducing stigma in communities while fighting NTDs

Mr Alabi, the neglected tropical disease (NTD) coordinator for Kogi State, Nigeria, and his team provide NTD interventions to more than four million people annually.

A boy washes his face at a well in Turkana, Kenya. Good hygiene is key to reducing the incidence of Trachoma and other eye conditions.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

World Water Week 2020: Bringing WASH and NTD sectors together will improve millions of lives

For World Water Week 2020, Sightsavers comes together with the Kenyan ministry of health to advocate for stronger partnerships between WASH and NTD sectors.

Samuel Eshitemi Omukuba and Dr Sultani Hadley Matendechero, August 2020
A man distributes treatment to a smiling student.
News / Fighting disease /

COVID-19 prevention messaging to reach millions in Africa

Sightsavers has joined forces with M&C Saatchi World Services to produce new COVID-19 awareness campaigns that will reach millions of people.

August 2020
A man stands for a portrait.
Stories / Fighting disease /

Sani Muhammad’s story

Alhaji Sani Muhammad Dan'lya is the acting chairman of Sokoto State's chapter of the Joint Association of Persons with Disabilities. He helps to highlight the importance of disability inclusion within the Ascend West and Central Africa programme.

An eye surgeon examines a woman's eyes to check for signs of trachoma.
News / Fighting disease /

WHO: 74% reduction in people needing advanced trachoma surgery

People requiring surgery treat severe cases of trachoma, the world’s leading cause of infectious blindness, have declined from 7.6 million in 2002 to 2 million in 2020, according to World Health Organization data.

July 2020
A group of people sit pointing and staring at a man who sits alone.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

How participatory research can change the lives of people affected by NTDs

Martins Imhansoloeva, research coordinator, shares how participatory research is helping to capture the experiences of people with NTDs and can lead to better programme design.

Martins Imhansoloeva, July 2020
A man walks behind his cattle on a dirt road
Blogs / Fighting disease /

Why innovation is urgently needed to reach nomadic communities during COVID-19

Kareen Atekem reflects on the challenges and opportunities in reaching Cameroon’s nomadic populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kareen Atekem, July 2020
Fatuma from Tanzania laughing
Stories / Fighting disease /

Fatuma's story

Fatuma is a grandmother from Ruangwa, Tanzania suffering with advanced trachoma. We follow her journey from near-blindness to the chance to see once again.

Babacar performs surgery wearing protective equipment on a trachoma patient.
Stories / Fighting disease /

Saving sight in Senegal during the COVID-19 pandemic

Without eye surgeon Babacar's efforts, people could have been at risk of going blind from the advanced form of trachoma during the lockdown.

A man washes his hands.
Blogs / Fighting disease /

UK aid's flagship neglected tropical disease programme is supporting countries during COVID-19

COVID-19 meant pausing neglected tropical disease (NTD) treatments worldwide. Ron Bannerman, director of Ascend West and Central Africa, explains how Sightsavers and partners found a way of using their expertise to help countries combat the pandemic while preserving the gains made in their fight against NTDs.

Ron Bannerman, July 2020
Surgeon Kabir wearing face mask on motorbike
Stories / Fighting disease /

Providing trachoma treatment during lockdown in Nigeria

Dozens of people have received vital post-operative treatment for trachoma despite COVID-19 restrictions, thanks to eye surgeon Kabir Yahaya.

Zakari, a TT tracker, using the device in a hospital.
News / Fighting disease /

Sightsavers' trachoma tracking app wins e-Health award

The Pierre Fabre Foundation has selected the mobile ‘TT Tracker’ for a Global South e-Health Observatory Award.

June 2020
Dr Amadou wearing scrubs and a face mask.
Stories / Fighting disease /

Celebrating our trachoma health workers

Health workers around the world have been thrown into the spotlight as they fight the COVID-19 pandemic. With this has come a renewed appreciation of their skills and hard work.

Zakari works with the surgeon to record patient data on the TT Tracker
Stories / Fighting disease /

Trachoma trackers in action: how mobile phones are saving sight

Meet Benin's mobile health team who are using mobile phones to track and eliminate trachoma.

A man talks with community members.
Stories / Fighting disease /

James's story

James came to the Kakuma refugee camp in 2015 after fleeing war in South Sudan. He now works for the camp’s eye clinic, where he reassures patients about their treatment.

Rebecca stands alongside her five children in front of a building in Northern Kenya.
Stories / Fighting disease /

Rebecca's story

Rebecca from South Sudan, who has advanced trachoma, has been living in a refugee camp in northern Kenya, since 2013.

A man being counselled by a health worker.
News / Fighting disease /

Water, sanitation and hygiene strategies important for tackling COVID-19

Public information around water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) have a key role to play in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by the Ascend West and Central Africa programme.

June 2020
Seven-year-old Muzi together with his father
Stories / Fighting disease /

Muzi’s story

Seven-year-old Muzi struggled to see due to blinding trachoma. Thanks to life-changing surgery through UK aid, he is one of many who have got their sight back.

A woman laughing.
Stories / Fighting disease /

Agatha's Story

Dr Agatha Aboe, from Ghana, has worked at Sightsavers for 10 years. She’s extremely dedicated to eliminating the blinding neglected tropical disease trachoma.

A man and a woman stand outside before beginning surveys for the Onchocerciaisis Elimination Mapping project.
Stories / Fighting disease /

Mapping river blindness in Mozambique

Meet Clécio and Silvia, who are helping to track the prevalence of river blindness in their country.

A woman stands outside, holding out her hand to show medication and holding a cup in her other hand.
News / Fighting disease /

Turn your innovative idea into a life-changing project to help beat neglected tropical diseases

A new learning and innovation fund aims to accelerate the control and elimination efforts of five debilitating diseases. 

April 2020
A group trachoma screening for children in Zimbabwe.
News / Fighting disease /

New report shows how NTD programme could help fight COVID-19 in Africa

A new report suggests that Sightsavers’ leading neglected tropical disease (NTD) programmes could play an important role in mitigating the impact of COVID-19.

April 2020
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