Ministry: 125,000 cases of river blindness in Sudan

The Federal Ministry of Health released a report on blindness in Sudan. More than 100 people suffer from river blindness, while many blind children do not receive treatment because of their economic situation.

There are 225,000 blind people in Sudan, including 125,000 people who are infected with the parasitic worm that causes onchocerciasis (river blindness). Onchocerciasis occurs mainly in tropical areas. More than 99 percent of infected people worldwide live in 31 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organization.

Sudan's deputy director of the national programme to combat blindness, Dr. Bilguis El Shafie, said that El Gallabat in El Gedaref state and El Radoom in South Darfur, on the border with Raja in South Sudan, are the most vulnerable areas to river blindness on a global scale.

She further reported in the press statement that there is one blind child out of every 1,000 children, owing to genetic reasons.

El Shafie acknowledged that 40 percent does not receive treatment because of poverty and the remoteness of their area.