Context

Trachoma and onchocerciasis are still the two major tropical infections most dangerous to eyesight. According to the WHO, onchocerciasis affects more than a billion people worldwide. Africa bears almost the entire global burden of onchocerciasis, with 30 of the 37 endemic countries in the world and more than 99% of onchocerciasis and related blindness cases. This infection is spread through the bite of a black fly, living near lakes and rivers, which, if left untreated, leads to permanent blindness. 

Trachoma, on the other hand, affects 2 million people. If left untreated, over time it causes scarring to the eyelid that pulls the eyelashes inward, so with every blink they scrape against the eye, which can lead to sight-loss.. It is children who are most affected by this disease, preventing them from receiving an education and severely handicapping them for the future.

In Burkina Faso, these diseases are still rife in some areas. Elimination of these diseases is necessary to avoid a large-scale expansion in the country. 

 

Supported project

In 2019-2020, the L'OCCITANE Foundation supported the NGO Sighsavers's project, which aimed to eliminate the blinding Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) onchocerciasis and trachoma in the Cascades region of Burkina Faso, demonstrating community-centred, scalable approaches to the provision of drugs, surgery, technical material and training, which can be replicated across the country. This co-ordinated approach to these two diseases had a beneficial impact on the control of other, non-blinding, NTDs.

Some figures

Budget 115,000 euros

Result 59,789 beneficiaries