Preventing Blindness
PREVENTING BLINDNESS :Fighting Trachoma in Ethiopia
FILMING & EDITING: AMANDA VOISARD & SARAH GRILE | PHOTO: AMANDA VOISARD | CLIENT: RTI INTERNATIONAL
ETHIOPIA - Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affect over one billion people globally, with devastating impacts on the world's most vulnerable populations. NTDs primarily afflict impoverished and powerless individuals living in rural areas and urban slums of low-income countries, causing severe disfigurement and disability, including blindness. These diseases thrive where access to clean water and sanitation is limited, perpetuating the cycle of poverty by impairing intellectual development in children, reducing school enrollment, and stymieing economic productivity.
Asnaku Tufa, a dedicated mother and field worker, is among the 75 million Ethiopians affected by trachoma—a painful and debilitating NTD that can lead to blindness. Asnaku faced visual impairment due to trachoma. ENVISION, in collaboration with USAID's largest public-private partnerships, has facilitated the distribution of $10.2 billion worth of donated medicines from major pharmaceutical companies to combat NTDs. In the countries supported by ENVISION, more than 1.1 billion NTD treatments have been provided.
Asnaku Tufa receives corrective surgery after testing positive for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT). The surgery is funded by the Ethiopian Government.
Health workers test for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) at the Dire Primary Health Care Unit.
Groups talk with health workers while being tested for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) at the Dire Primary Health Care Unit.
Our aim on the project was to highlight the work of RTI and the plight of families suffering from this preventable disease. If trachoma is left untreated, it can lead to surgery, which was the fate of Asnaku and her mother before her. Armed with the tools to prevent her children from suffering the same fate, Asnaku worked diligently to keep her household clean, while slowly going blind in one eye. Thanks to ENVISION's support, Asnaku received the necessary treatment to protect her family and prevent her children from suffering the same fate.
