Our work in Mali
In Mali we focus on fighting and preventing diseases such as river blindness, and treating eye conditions such as cataracts.
Debilitating diseases such as river blindness are a major public health problem in Mali.
It’s thought that five million people need medication to protect them against river blindness.
Sightsavers has been working in Mali since 1991, and is fighting these diseases by distributing medication that can prevent them spreading.
We’re also working to reduce blindness in Mali by training eye specialists and health workers, and recruiting community volunteers to distribute medication. We educate communities about good hygiene, carry out surgery for patients suffering from cataracts and trachoma, and screen people for refractive error.
Sightsavers’ social inclusion work in Mali aims to empower who are visually impaired, enabling them to participate in their community. We provide support to help children with visual impairments to go to school, offer eye health consultations and monitor the progress of each child that is enrolled.
At a glance
Total populationWhat we focus on
Key programmes
Previous programmes
How we’re making a difference in Mali
Fighting disease
Sightsavers mobile surgeon Boubacar Fomba travels to rural Mali to treat patients in the field and gather vital data about trachoma.
Read Boubacar’s story
Inclusive education
As part of Sightsavers' inclusive education project, we’ve worked with a linguistic expert to translate braille into the local language.
Read the story
Restoring vision
Sayon suffered for years with trachoma, and risked going blind. After a straightforward operation, she is now free from this painful disease.
Read Sayon’s story
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