At least 16 countries are set to receive a boost of $36.5 million in new funding to combat trachoma within their borders.
Dr. Joy Shu’aibu, the Country Director for Sightsavers, an international development organization, announced this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Trachoma, a neglected tropical disease, initiates as a bacterial infection affecting the eye, leading to vision impairment and permanent blindness.
Other variants or strains of these bacteria can cause a sexually transmitted infection (chlamydia) and disease in lymph nodes.
Shu’aibu highlighted that the funding is allocated under the “Accelerate Programme,” with the goal of eradicating the disease by 2027.
She emphasized the debilitating effects of trachoma, which hinder people from engaging in essential activities such as earning a livelihood, cultivating food, cooking, caring for their families, and attending school. The pain is often described as akin to having sand or thorns in one’s eyes.
Through the Accelerate Programme, Sightsavers successfully supported the Republic of Benin in eliminating trachoma in 2023. The additional funding will intensify efforts in 16 more countries, including Nigeria, to eradicate the scourge of trachoma.
The extended Accelerate Programme, launched in 2018 as part of The Audacious Project hosted by TED, will benefit from the new funding provided by international donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, The ELMA Foundation, and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, alongside contributions from Sightsavers.
The initiative aims to eliminate trachoma as a public health concern in 12 countries by 2027, including Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Namibia, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Ethiopia, bearing the world’s highest burden of the disease, will also receive support from the fund.
With over 70 years of experience collaborating with governments in more than 30 countries to control and eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Sightsavers is well-positioned to drive progress in this vital area of global health.
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