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
Inclusive education
As part of our inclusive education project, we’ve worked with a linguistic expert to translate braille into the local language, meaning children with visual impairments can learn.
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Tackling neglected tropical diseases
For more than 30 years, Sightsavers has been working alongside the government of Mali to fight river blindness. Now the country is on track to banish it for good.
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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.
Benin and Mali become the latest countries to eliminate trachoma
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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.
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