Looking Bravely: Eliminating Blinding Trachoma in Mali

Helen Keller staff member taking notes in a clinic corridor with healthcare workers.We recently spoke with Benoit Dembélé who is our Regional Technical Advisor for Neglected Tropical Diseases in West Africa. Benoit helps Helen Keller Intl’s teams across Africa ensure quality treatment to prevent and eliminate neglected tropical diseases.[...]

Helping People See True Potential

Graphic showing a girl in a yellow dress standing confidently on a white pedestal with the phrase 'she can thrive' in bold letters, symbolizing empowerment and success.Impaired vision can cause long-lasting challenges for children and adults throughout their lives. In childhood, poor vision will make it more difficult for a student to fully engage in the classroom and with her peers, putting her education at risk. This can[...]

A Friendly Competition Helps Eliminate Trachoma

Group of people standing outside in a rural setting in front of a borehole and water tower with Helen Keller Intl logo on it.Hawa Sissoko is a housewife in Kéréko, a small village in Mali. She, like many of her neighbors, would have to walk more than 10 miles each way to have access to clean water. Without clean water, diseases like trachoma can run rampant, and serious illness[...]

Trachoma Eliminated as a Public Health Problem in Mali

Eyecare professional examining woman's eye for trachoma in outdoor rural setting.The World Health Organization announced the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in Mali.  Though not the first country to eliminate trachoma, this milestone is particularly extraordinary due to the scale of the disease. A 1996 survey found[...]

Breaking the prevalence of poverty-related diseases in Cameroon

Two Helen Keller staff wearing vests speak with an elderly man with a swollen leg sitting on a stool outside a weathered rural house.When Helen Keller health workers visited Biaback Guiliagne’s home in a rural Cameroon village, he was surprised at first, but quickly warmed up when he realized the visitors could help relieve some of his pain. For more than 30 years, Biaback had been[...]