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.
Read the story
Restoring vision
Sayon suffered so badly with trachoma, she resorted to plucking out her eyelashes. After a straightforward operation, she is now free from this painful disease.
Read Sayon’s story
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.
World’s largest trachoma surveys reach 50th country
Sierra Leone has become the 50th country to be surveyed for trachoma as part of the initiative, with one person being examined for trachoma every 26 seconds since the surveys began in 2012.
June 2021 update: highlights from around the world
A round-up of our work that your donations are helping to support, including news from India, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Malawi.
How inclusive education is transforming lives
In Mali, a Sightsavers project is ensuring children with disabilities are able to learn alongside their peers. Students, teachers and parents describe how the project has made a difference.
March 2021 updates: highlights from around the world
A campaign to protect school children from worm infections has been launched in Cameroon. Plus news from Burkina Faso, India and more.
January 2021 updates: highlights from around the world
In Côte d’Ivoire, eye health staff have been working to ensure eye surgery is COVID-safe. Plus news from Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Ghana and more
Teacher Abdul’s experience of Ebola and COVID-19 in Sierra Leone
To find out the challenges of teaching children, particularly those with disabilities, during health crises we spoke with Abdul Kandeh Turay, a teacher in Rokulan, Sierra Leone.
Voices from Sierra Leone: The experiences of girls with disabilities at school
In Sierra Leone, children with disabilities are often considered not worth educating. We've worked with schools to make sure these children are not left behind.
How Sightsavers has helped to adapt braille into Mali’s local language
As part of Sightsavers' inclusive education project, which supports children with visual impairments across Mali, we’ve worked with linguistic expert Dr Issiaka Ballo to translate braille into the local language for the first time.
Surveys for advanced trachoma resume in Burkina Faso
More than 20,000 people are to be screened in the first surveys since NTD programmes were put on hold because of COVID-19.
We save sight in 30 countries worldwide
Where we work