AMN/ WEB DESK
Niger becomes the first country in the African Region to eliminate onchocerciasis. Niger’s Minister of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs Garba Hakimi officially declared at a ceremony that the country is free of onchocerciasis.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) congratulated Niger on achieving the standard required to eliminate onchocerciasis. Niger is recognised as the fifth country in the world, the first in Africa, to have successfully halted the transmission of the parasite Onchocerca volvulus. The other four countries that have reached this milestone are all located in the Americas: Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico. The resident representative of the WHO, Casimir Manengu, commended Niger’s commitment and leadership that enabled this remarkable achievement.
Onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness, is a parasitic disease and is the second leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, after trachoma. It is transmitted to humans through the bites of infective black flies, primarily found in riverine areas. The disease primarily affects rural populations in sub-Saharan Africa and Yemen, with smaller endemic areas found in parts of Latin America.