Your gift today helps a child see their future
We’re closer than ever to ending River Blindness for good
For over three decades, cbm and its partners have fought this devastating disease, delivering sight-saving medication to the hardest-to-reach places.
Thanks to supporters like you, we are on the brink of elimination. But the last remaining pockets of infection exist in some of the most remote communities—places where lack of clean water and sanitation allow the disease to spread unchecked. [places where distance and lack of access make this work more urgent than ever.]
Together, we can finish the job.
Join us to learn how you can help communities build lasting change
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In Nigeria, Millions Live Under the Threat of River Blindness
Blackflies swarm near rivers where families farm, wash, and gather water. With every bite, they transmit a parasite that spreads beneath the skin, unnoticed. More than 50 million people across Africa are at risk.
Poor sanitation and unsafe water allow disease-carrying insects to thrive, making River Blindness an ongoing threat. Without access to safe drinking water or basic hygiene, families are left vulnerable—not just to River Blindness, but to a cycle of poverty and illness.
Abbas is only four. He plays near the riverbanks where his family works, unaware of the danger in the air around him. His father, Masu, was once like him—young, full of promise. A top student. A gifted athlete. He dreamed of becoming a doctor.
But by his twenties, his vision had begun to fail. The disease took his sight—and with it, his future. Today, he is one of an estimated 1.2 million Nigerians living with blindness. Now, he fears for his children.
What is River Blindness?
River Blindness, or Onchocerciasis, is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of infected blackflies. Once inside the body, the parasite burrows beneath the skin, multiplying by the thousands.
Without treatment, the effects are devastating:
Relentless itching
Larvae beneath the skin cause itching day and night, leading to sores, infection, and long-term skin damage.
Thickened, damaged skin
As the parasites develop, the skin hardens and forms nodules, affecting movement and dignity over time
Permanent Vision Loss
The infection spreads to the eyes, causing scarring and inflammation that lead to total blindness.
River Blindness thrives where clean water is scarce.
Poor sanitation creates ideal breeding grounds for blackflies, increasing infection rates.
With the right intervention—safe water, better sanitation, and critical medication—
this disease can be stopped.
River Blindness thrives where clean water is scarce. Poor sanitation creates ideal breeding grounds for blackflies, increasing infection rates. But with the right intervention—safe water, better sanitation, and critical medication—this disease can be stopped.
One Simple Treatment can Break the Cycle
For millions of people at risk, the answer is a single pill.
✔ Mectizan, a proven anti-parasitic treatment, prevents infection and halts disease progression.
✔ One annual dose kills the larvae before they can cause blindness.
✔ Through a pharmaceutical partnership, every $1 donated delivers $7 in treatment.
But treatment alone isn’t enough—for River Blindness to be fully eliminated, families also need access to clean water and safe sanitation.
By supporting cbm’s River Blindness programs, you are funding life-saving treatment AND ensuring long-term prevention through access to safe water and hygiene education.
Every $X Donated Provides:
A full course of sight-saving medicine
Clean water initiatives to prevent reinfection
Outreach to the hardest-to-reach communities
Every gift is multiplied X7
A Future Without Blindness.
There is no vaccine for River Blindness, but there is a solution.
A single annual treatment can break the cycle—so children like Abbas can reach for a future they can see, feel, and shape with their own hands.
Every minute counts. Your gift today can change a life forever
