PREVENTING BLINDNESS STORY

PREVENTING BLINDESS

Fighting Trachoma in Ethiopia

FILM

DIRECTOR’S CUT

CINEMATOGRAPHY, EDITING: AMANDA VOISARD & SARAH GRILE | PHOTOGRAPHY: AMANDA VOISARD

CLIENT: RTI INTERNATIONAL | ORIGINAL SCORE: ALED ROBERTS | TRANSLATION: NAZIF JEMAL

One-sixth of the worldwide population—more than 1 billion people—suffers from one or more neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These diseases devastate the world’s most vulnerable populations, striking the almost exclusively poor and powerless people in rural areas and urban slums in low-income countries.

Many NTDs cause severe disfigurement and disability, including blindness. NTDs come hand-in-hand with poverty because they thrive where access to clean water and sanitation is limited. These diseases, in turn, contribute to poverty because they can impair intellectual development in children, reduce school enrollment, and stymie economic productivity.

A mother and field worker, Asnaku Tufa is one of more than 75 million people in Ethiopia living in communities impacted by trachoma, a painful and debilitating NTD that can lead to blindness. Facing visual impairment from trachoma, Tufa’s ability to work was severely impaired. She said she was worried constantly about her future and fearful her children would also fall victim to the same debilitating disease. ENVISION operates in coordination with the largest public-private partnerships in USAID’s history, supporting the distribution of $10.2 billion worth of donated medicines from major pharmaceutical companies dedicated to fighting NTDs.

In the countries supported by ENVISION more than 1.1 billion NTD treatments have been provided. The aim of 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. With the support of the ENVISION project, Asnaku and her family were checked for the disease and were provided with education regarding prevention. Armed with the tools to keep her family safe, Tufa works diligently to keep her household clean from the infection. Her children are free of Trachoma.

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The RTI Trachoma impact survey team conducts surveys in the Kofto Kebele community in order to both collect data as well as diagnose, treat and inform about prevention. Trachoma, a neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), is the leading cause of infectious blindness according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Approximately 38% of the global population at risk for trachoma live in Ethiopia, making it one of the most endemic countries in the world.

The RTI Trachoma Impact Survey team leaves from Dukem on a long journey by car, foot and horse and buggy in order to reach those living in hard to reach areas.

A blind man from Kofto Kebele, Ethiopia waits for members of the RTI Trachoma Impact Survey team to assist him.

A woman in Kofto Kebele, Ethiopia holds her child while the RTI Trachoma Impact Survey team conducts surveys in the community to collect data as well as to diagnose, treat and provide prevention information.

Asnaku Tufa, a resident of the Dire Korchachie Community in Shoki Kebele, Ethiopia, began feeling pain in her eyes two years ago. She could not afford to have her eyes checked and was fearful she was suffering from the same condition as her mother, whom had Trachoma. When the opportunity came to get her eyes checked at a nearby clinic, Asnaku and her family went to get tested for the disease. Asnaku’s daughter aids with cooking a meal for the family.

Asnaku Tufa’s youngest daughter helps prepare coffee. As a child, Asnaku would watch as her mother epilated her lashes to relieve the pain from the Neglected Tropical Disease, Trachoma, which causes the turning in of eye lashes.

Asnaku Tufa’s mother-in-law sits inside the family home while coffee is being prepared.

In March of 2019, Asnaku Tufa learned that the Dire Primary Health Care Unit was offering a free Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) screening. She chose to take advantage of this opportunity with both her husband and daughter.

A doctor checks Asnaku Tufa’s eyes for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) during a free screening at the Dire Primary Health Care Unit. She tested positive for the disease.

Asnaku waits to have corrective surgery at the Dire Primary Health Care Unit after testing positive for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) .

Asnaku receives a health check-up at the Dire Primary Health Care Unit prior to receiving corrective surgery for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT).

Groups wait to be tested at the health center.

Asnaku receives corrective surgery after testing positive for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) the health center. The surgery is funded by the Ethiopian Government.

Asnaku’s oldest daughter is tested for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) during a free screening at the Dire Primary Health Care Center. Both her daughter and husband tested negative.

Asnaku is given an eye exam during the screening at the health care unit.

Asnaku is one of many patients whom tested positive for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) during the free screening. Patients whom opted for treatment were provided with counseling and corrective surgery. The surgery is funded by the Ethiopian Government.

Asnaku Tufa washes dishes with her daughter while at home after having corrective surgery for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT). During the testing Tufa was informed that TT is not a hereditary disease and that the precautions she has been taking at home to keep her home clean will help prevent her children from contracting the disease.

Asnaku Tufa stands outside her home after receiving corrective eye surgery for Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) at a local clinic.