Trachoma

Trachoma is a disease that has already blinded six million people and a staggering 146 million face blindness if they do not have access to preventative medication. Re-infection can occur many times, causing the eye lid to turn under, scarring the cornea with every painful blink, until the person eventually becomes blind.

• Trachoma thrives in environments where basic hygiene routines are lacking, often due to the scarcity of water, and quickly spreads in eye discharge through families and communities.
• It costs just €3.00 to provide enough Tetracycline eye ointment to treat a whole family and cure their trachoma infection.
• A donation of €15.00 will provide lid rotation surgery for someone in the advanced stages of the disease and will stabilise their condition.
• CBM has an effective, four-step strategy to prevent the spread of the disease, stop the active infection and correct damaged eyelids, known as SAFE: Surgical intervention, Antibiotic treatment, Face washing and Environmental changes.