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Looking Bravely: Promoting Equity in Global Health

Sarah Bouchie

We welcomed Sarah Bouchie as Helen Keller Intl’s President and CEO in January 2024. With nearly three decades of international development experience, Sarah has been both an implementer and advocate for prominent global nonprofits and a leader of the philanthropic investments that shape humanitarian and development efforts. She has held leadership roles at the LEGO […]

Protecting a Community from Onchocerciasis with Preventive Medication

Four members of different generations of a Cameroonian family sit together.

When Patrice Messolo was a boy, his grandfather and uncle became very sick. They both lost their vision and developed skin lesions on their legs due to what Patrice would later learn was onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness. Without treatment, this neglected tropical disease can cause disfiguring skin conditions and permanent blindness.   Seeing what […]

Sierra Leone’s Fight Against Lymphatic Filariasis: Progress, Challenges, and Hope

A Sierra Leonean boy wearing a backpack stands in front of a road sign.

This story was originally published on USAID’s Act to End Neglected Tropical Diseases | West Program website. It has been republished here with permission. Meet Kebie Koroma, a 14-year-old from the village of Kakamathor, located in Bombali district in the north of Sierra Leone. At the age of two, Kebie’s parents noticed something unusual on […]

Speaking Technically: Investing in the Fight Against Neglected Tropical Diseases

A group of school children in Cameroon smile for the camera.

We recently spoke with Dr. Angela Weaver, Vice President for Neglected Tropical Diseases. Angela leads Helen Keller Intl’s work to control and eliminate these diseases – specifically lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), river blindness (onchocerciasis), schistosomiasis, intestinal worms (soil-transmitted helminths), and trachoma. Often called “diseases of poverty”, this group of parasitic and bacterial diseases can cause blindness, […]

Preventive Treatment Helps Build Healthy Futures for Children in Sierra Leone

A female healthcare worker in Sierra Leone helps a child take a drink of water. There is a large bottle of medication on the table in front of her.

Nurse Aminata Sama always dreamed of helping her community stay healthy. She thought her work would focus on helping people address minor health concerns and never imagined she would contribute to eliminating a devastating disease from Sierra Leone. One of three children, Aminata’s father was a security guard and her mother traded local palm oil. […]

Building Upon Our Legacy of Health, Nutrition, and Vision

A healthcare worker tends to a small baby being held by his mother.

Over the past several decades, Helen Keller Intl has continued to expand our ability to help people around the world create lasting change in their own lives. Today, we reach more than 70 million children and family members across 20 countries with the essential building blocks of sound health, good nutrition, and clear vision.  We […]

2023 Year in Review: Forces for Good [Photo Essay]

A Burkinabe woman kneels while tending to six goats.

Every day, members of the Helen Keller Intl community are choosing to be forces for good. Community health heroes, entrepreneurs, parents, youth, and Helen Keller staff work tirelessly to help improve health, nutrition, and vision for people in their communities, countries, and around the world. We’re highlighting some of the incredible contributions made by members […]

How Partnership Led to Eliminating an Endemic Blinding Disease in Mali

A woman wearing a headscarf with a flower pattern has her eyes examined by a healthcare worker.

Earlier this year, the World Health Organization announced Mali as the 17th country to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem. This is a milestone more than two decades in the making.  Trachoma was once pervasive in nearly every region of the country, putting nearly 10 million people at risk of blindness. Eliminating such a […]

Looking Bravely: Eliminating Blinding Trachoma in Mali

A man with dark skin sits on a bench outside of a building. He is writing in a small notebook. A woman with dark skin dressed in white scrubs sits across from him.

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. Most recently, Benoit and his team worked alongside the Malian government and partners The Carter Center and Sightsavers […]

Helping People See True Potential

On the left, there is a graphic of a girl wearing a yellow dress and standing on a white pillar. To her right large white and orange text reads "She can thrive."

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 start a downward spiral, especially for a child already experiencing poverty. As she […]