Democratic Republic of Congo

Sightsavers is working to eliminate neglected tropical diseases in DRC. River blindness is endemic, with an estimated 40 million people requiring preventative treatment, while an estimated 37 million people require preventative treatment for lymphatic filariasis.

We are helping the poorest communities in the country to reoccupy fertile agricultural land close to a river and earn an income. The project will reduce the number of children who stay at home because of severe skin conditions or to care for relatives who have become blind or disfigured, enabling them to attend school.

We are also training health workers and supporting mass drug administration across communities to stop the spread of river blindness and LF. The project will start to treat people in the province of Ituri Nord, which borders Uganda, and is crucial to ensure that efforts to eliminate river blindness in the neighbouring country are also successful.