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A boy leads an adult who has lost his sight because of river blindness. Some 18 Million people in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are at risk for the disease. (Photo by Jeffrey Goldtsein, Courtesy of Merck & Co., Inc.)

 



A woman in a village in Benin, West Africa, receives a tablet of Mectizan from a village health worker. Just one dose of the drug each year prevents river blindness. (Photo by Art Kaufman, Courtesy of Merck & Co., Inc.)
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Carter Center Steps Up Efforts to Control River Blindness and Save Eyesight
6 May 1996
The Carter Center and the River Blindness Foundation have joined forces in the effort to fight river blindness disease.

"The Carter Center and the River Blindness Foundation (RBF) have long had a common goal: to prevent the needless suffering of millions of people in the developing world who contract this disease," said former President Jimmy Carter. "Our new Global 2000 River Blindness Program, which has acquired most of the Foundation's operations, allows us to expand our role in the coalition working to control river blindness, while continuing to fulfill the Center's mission of action-oriented involvement that does not duplicate efforts made by others."

RBF was founded by John and Rebecca Moores of Houston, Texas, in 1990. "I believe that combining the powerful resources of these two institutions will have a significant impact on the global effort to control this horrible disease," said Mr. Moores. "The Carter Center's proven success in other disease control and eradication efforts and President Carter's personal commitment to the program underscore this position."

The program's mission is to bring about the global control of river blindness (onchocerciasis), a parasitic infection spread through the bite of blackflies that breed in fast-flowing rivers and streams. Victims of the disease are afflicted with incessant itching, eyesight damage, and possible blindness. More than 100 million people are at risk in 34 endemic countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Experts estimate that 18 million people are infected and 1 million suffer from serious sight impairment, 400,000 of whom are blind.

Carter Center, Task Force Oversee Distribution of Mectizan

The Carter Center has been active in the onchocerciasis effort since 1988. In 1987, Merck & Co. Inc. decided to donate Mectizan to all people infected with river blindness for as long as necessary. A single yearly dose controls the disease. Merck approached William Foege, M.D., then-executive director of the Center, for help with the global distribution of Mectizan. Together, they created the Mectizan Expert Committee and housed it at The Task Force for Child Survival and Development, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Center. The committee, which determines the appropriate distribution of Mectizan, is comprised of internationally recognized onchocerciasis and public health experts and is chaired by Dr. Foege, now Carter Center health policy fellow and Task Force executive director.

"The opportunity for the Center to operate river blindness control programs in the field is an exciting addition to our current programs in health and agriculture," said Dr. Foege. "The Center is uniquely positioned to continue the work begun by the Foundation."

Since 1990, RBF has raised more than $30 million for use in controlling river blindness. In addition to operating field programs in Africa and supporting a regional office in Latin America, RBF has provided technical assistance to other endemic countries and has been a major builder of the coalition battling the disease. RBF has worked with villagers and ministers of health; organizations such as the World Bank, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization; and other local and international nongovernmental development organizations.

The Carter Center's Global 2000 River Blindness Program complements its Guinea Worm Eradication Program. Global 2000 leads a worldwide coalition working to eradicate Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis). Guinea worm has been reduced by 97 percent and soon will be only the second disease after smallpox to be wiped from the face of the earth.

Donald Hopkins, M.D., Global 2000's senior consultant for health and director of its Guinea worm eradication efforts, also has been named director of the River Blindness Program. "In Africa, health workers at the village level are already skilled in medical treatment, data man-agement, and educational training techniques for Guinea worm disease," said Dr. Hopkins. "Adding responsibility for the control of river blindness to the current offensive against Guinea worm will continue to build on what has so far been a marvelous public health success story."

 

Nigeria Tackles Challenges Posed By River Blindness

In February, Nigeria observed its second annual National Onchocerciasis Day to raise awareness about the disease and its prevention. Approximately 4.2 million Nigerians received Mectizan in 1995. While it is still short of the estimated 40 million Nigerians at risk for river blindness, the 1995 total nearly doubled the number of persons treated in 1994. It also illustrates how countries in Africa and Latin America are taking more responsibility for treating the disease.

On National Onchocerciasis Day, Nigeria's federal minister of health summarized the challenge that river blindness poses to his country. "We need to remind ourselves that we cannot afford to depend entirely on organizations and agencies for help," said Ihechukwu Madubuike, M.D. "The problem is ours. The task is to put in place a community-based, self-sustaining program.... The fight against onchocerciasis is a fight that must be won."