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Jacob is measured for his annual Mectizan® treatment © Kate Holt / Sightsavers

Jacob is measured for his annual Mectizan® treatment © Kate Holt / Sightsavers

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Together we can wipe out river blindness for good

Jacob and his family live in Kaduna state in Northern Nigeria. It's home to six million people, the vast majority of whom are living on less than $1 a day. River blindness is rife in this region and Sightsavers combats this by distributing a yearly dose of the Mectizan® tablet.

Exciting new evidence suggests that if people take Mectizan® annually for at least ten years, they will be permanently safe from river blindness. When the cost of distributing a liftetime's treatment is as little as 60 cent it's easy to see why we believe river blindness should be consigned to medical history.

Jacob no longer lives in fear of becoming blind

River blindness devastates whole villages. It can blind men and women in the prime of their lives and leave them unable to provide for their families. Children can be deprived of an education because they are needed at home to care for older relatives who have become blind.

Along with his sister and the rest of his community Jacob no longer lives in fear of becoming blind. River blindness will not rob Jacob of the education he values so highly and his future is so much brighter as a result. This achievement is only possible with the support of people like you.