Nigeria and 15 other countries have received $36.5 million in funding to combat trachoma, a bacterial infection that can cause irreversible blindness.
This funding aims to support efforts to eliminate the disease, which is a major cause of blindness in many developing countries. It is part of the “Accelerate Programme” aimed at eradicating trachoma by 2027.
Country Director for Sightsavers, an international charity organisation, Dr. Joy Shu’aibu in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, stressed the impact of trachoma on individuals.
Shu’aibu mentioned past successes in eliminating the disease, especially in the Republic of Benin in 2023.
The funding will extend the programme’s reach to more countries, including Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Namibia, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia.
The programme is supported by international donors like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the ELMA Foundation, and other notable organisations.
Identified as a neglected tropical disease, Trachoma initially manifests as a bacterial infection that affects the eyes, progressively causing vision impairment and irreversible blindness.
Trachoma stands as the primary cause of infectious blindness worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).