Our work in Guinea
In Guinea, Sightsavers focuses on preventing diseases such as river blindness. In 2020 we helped to give out 1.7 million treatments to protect people against these diseases.
It’s thought that more than 1.4 million people in Guinea are at risk of trachoma and more than 7 million at risk of river blindness.
Sightsavers has been working in Guinea since 1991 to to tackle neglected tropical diseases, and to treat eye conditions such as cataracts. We help to train doctors, nurses and village distributors to administer medication that can prevent disease spreading and stop patients suffering further sight loss.
Schistosomiasis and intestinal worms are also endemic in the country. As part of a push to eliminate the diseases, we distribute deworming medication to schoolchildren that are at risk, support education programmes, and train teachers and volunteers to identify the diseases.
Sightsavers is working to improve Guinea’s healthcare system by training ophthalmologists and bringing in health workers from other West African countries, such as Togo, Niger, Mali and Benin. We also provide surgical equipment and support cataract operations.
At a glance
Total populationWhat we focus on
Key programmes
Your donation could help to protect sight
DONATEMore from West Africa
Eye care and COVID-19: what we’ve learned during the pandemic
Throughout the pandemic, our priority has been to restart our work quickly and safely. Sightsavers staff reveal our how eye care programmes have evolved in the past 18 months.
The last five years: Mali’s journey to protect the rights of people with disabilities
The signing and passing into law of a new social decree that protects the rights of people with disabilities was years in the making. But how did we get to this historic moment?
How trachoma surgery has changed lives in Côte d’Ivoire
As Côte d’Ivoire completes its final operations as part of the Accelerate programme to fight trachoma, hear the stories of some of the people involved.
We save sight in 30 countries worldwide
Where we work