Nigeria and 15 other nations are set to receive a boost of $36.5 million in new funding to combat trachoma within their borders.
Dr. Joy Shu’aibu, Country Director for Sightsavers, an international development organization, disclosed this in a statement released on Thursday in Abuja.
Trachoma, described as a neglected tropical disease by the News Agency of Nigeria, initially manifests as a bacterial infection affecting the eyes, leading to vision impairment and eventual blindness.
Shu’aibu emphasized that the funding is allocated under the “Accelerate Programme,” designed to eradicate trachoma by 2027.
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She highlighted the debilitating impact of trachoma on individuals’ lives, hindering their ability to work, cultivate food, engage in household activities, attend school, and causing excruciating pain akin to having sand or thorns in their eyes.
“Through the Accelerate Programme, Sightsavers successfully aided the Republic of Benin in eliminating trachoma in 2023,” Shu’aibu stated. “This new funding will intensify our efforts across 16 additional countries, including Nigeria, to ultimately eradicate trachoma.”
The 12 countries targeted for trachoma elimination by 2027 include Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Namibia, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Additionally, support will be extended to Ethiopia, which bears the highest global burden of the disease.
With over 70 years of experience collaborating with governments in more than 30 countries to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), Sightsavers is poised to drive significant progress in trachoma eradication efforts.
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