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Sharing Stories

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sharing stories.

A Person-Centred Approach to tackling the impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
“This story is not just about statistics; it’s about the people whose lives have been profoundly changed.”

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a rarely-talked-about group of diseases that can cause intense pain, disabling side-effects, and social stigma and discrimination. They are treatable and preventable, yet continue to affect over one billion of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people. CBM is raising awareness by sharing the stories of those most affected. Using their narrative, in their own words, these individuals show what is possible when NTD programmes consider the whole person, and all their needs, together.

CBM’s NTD programmes deliver a person-centred approach, tackling the many problems and challenges that arise for an individual with an NTD – from physical and mental health needs, to lack of employment opportunities, poor mobility and stigma from their family and community.

And the results are tangible. Project participants are sharing their experiences – using videos and vlogs to tell it in their own words – talking about how their lives have changed for the better, having been involved in our programmes.

The aim is to make sure their voices are heard – within their communities, by their local decision-makers, by funders and on an international level. Innovative story-mapping technology is being developed to amplify their voices and to learn from their experiences.

CBM’s CiSKuLA Project in Northern Nigeria has been ambitious working with communities at risk of, ad affected by Lymphatic Filariasis (LF). Together with their local partner HANDS, the project offers a multifaceted approach to breaking the NTD–Disability–Poverty Cycle.

“At the heart of the project is the understanding that true transformation comes from addressing the multidimensional needs of those affected by NTDs and disabilities. This project has brought together healthcare, economic empowerment, mental health care, and inclusive WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) services in an unprecedented way.” Joseph Ameh, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, HANDS, Nigeria.

By offering surgical and limb-care, livelihood support, hygiene training and mental health support, CBM’s inclusive approach goes beyond a purely medical approach, to ensure that nobody is left behind.

“The project is not only healing bodies but also restoring hope and self-worth to individuals, families, and entire communities.” Joseph continues.

People with NTDs often face rejection, stigma and discrimination. CBM have found that increasing the visibility of people with disabilities is essential to undermining negative stereotyping, fear and shame. They proactively support people with NTDs to be active, productive members of the community, so that they are recognised as people with dreams and hopes for their future like anyone else. Sharing their stories is a key part of this.

The CiSKuLA project is demonstrating the benefits of working holistically and taking a person-centred approach, showing what is possible when programmes consider the person as a whole. And now they want to share those stories far and wide.

QAV Ltd have an ongoing partnership with CBM, the Global Disability Inclusion Charity, through support of their Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programme, tackling the causes, symptoms and stigma of NTDs in some of the world’s poorest communities. Because together we can break the NTD – Disability – Poverty Cycle.

Amina’s Story: CiSKuLA: The Holistic Approach

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Community

A story of renewed hope

Anas seating on a chair
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Anas seating on a chair

A story of renewed hope .

Anas lived in Jigawa State, Nigeria. When he was younger, he was infected by lymphatic filariasis (LF) – commonly known as elephantiasis.

Anas lived in Jigawa State, Nigeria. When he was younger, he was infected by lymphatic filariasis (LF) – commonly known as elephantiasis.

Lymphatic filariasis, a neglected tropical disease (NTD) transmitted by mosquitoes, impairs the lymphatic system and can lead to the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing severe pain, severe disability and social stigma. It is estimated that over 120 million people are affected by lymphatic filariasis worldwide.

Anas was unfortunately among the many in his community who have consistently missed out on the LF MDA (Lymphatic Filariasis Mass Administration of Medicines) programmes over the years, making him vulnerable to infection. As he grew older, he started to develop bilateral lymphoedema, severe swelling, in his legs.

He began to experience severe pain, as well as difficulty walking and weeping wounds on his legs. But luckily, he was enrolled in CBM’s CiSKuLA programme, which takes a comprehensive and inclusive approach to tackling the causes, symptoms and stigma of NTDs.

“As a result, his life was totally transformed – he learnt a trade, has a better understanding of washing and hygiene practices to prevent further infection, and he felt less ostracised in his community. He told his story in the uplifting film below; tragically he died this autumn, aged 19, and his story lives on as a beacon of hope for all those living with NTDs. .”

Find out more about Anas’ story, in his own words, here:

In 2024, QAV Ltd renewed their partnership with CBM, the Global Disability Inclusion Charity, through support of their Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programme, which tackles the causes, symptoms and stigma of NTDs in some of the world’s poorest communities.

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Community

Bringing hope to people living with NTDs

A mother in Nigeria washes the face of her son having accessed hygiene education on protecting her and her family from Neglected Tropical Diseases.
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A mother in Nigeria washes the face of her son having accessed hygiene education on protecting her and her family from Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Bringing hope to people living with NTDs.

QAV Ltd renewed their partnership with CBM, the Global Disability Charity, through support of their Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programme.

In 2024, QAV Ltd renewed their partnership with CBM, the Global Disability Charity, through support of their Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programme.

NTDs – such as trachoma, lymphatic filariasis, and onchocerciasis (river blindness) – bring immense suffering to those affected. They thrive mainly in rural areas, conflict zones, and hard-to-reach regions that lack quality and affordable healthcare services, and where access to clean water and sanitation is very restricted.

Those with an NTD live with constant pain, and it can impact an individual’s ability to earn a living or attend school. The stigma and discrimination that they and their families face can be devastating.

Lymphatic filariasis is caused by an infection from a parasitic worm spread by mosquitoes, which damages the immune system and can lead to the swelling and enlargement of body parts (elephantiasis), causing pain, severe disability and social stigma. River Blindness is also caused by a parasitic worm and spread by blackflies. It leads to severe itching, disfiguring skin conditions and visual impairment, including permanent blindness.

Around 200,000 NTD deaths occur annually, and 1.7 billion people worldwide (21% of the world’s population) are affected by, or at risk of, one or more of these chronic and disabling diseases.

A man gives a child some tablets from a bottle as part of a Mass Drug Administration programme in Nigeria.

“Sometimes, I think of going out, but I do not because of the shame of being among other people” Woman from Nigeria with lymphatic filariasis.

CBM’s NTD programmes aims to tackle both the cause and the effect (physical, social and mental health) of NTDs on individuals and their families. They aim to tackle them in a range of different ways to deliver a more comprehensive solution:

  • Breaking the infectious cycle through mass drug administration, treating at-risk communities with preventative medication.
  • Helping those already affected by infectious diseases, through the provision of limb care, surgical interventions, eye care and mental health support.
  • Preventing NTDs through Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) initiatives, taking into account the needs of people with disabilities to access WASH activities.
  • Delivering Community-based support, through initiatives to tackle the poverty, employment issues and discrimination that many suffer.

Last year, globally, CBM protected 2.56m people from Neglected Tropical Diseases.

CBM’s partnership with QAV Ltd supports our vital work in Nigeria, which accounts for about 25% of the burden of NTDs in Africa. By working together, we can deliver better outcomes for individuals and communities whose lives have been blighted by NTDs, lifting them out of the poverty-disability cycle and overcoming the stigma that so many face.

“Even the borehole near me I can’t fetch from there or even the well because the people won’t allow me” Adult with an NTD.

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Community

Leaving a Lasting Impact: Sustainable Support for Girls with Disabilities in Zimbabwe

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Leaving a Lasting Impact: Sustainable Support for Girls with Disabilities in Zimbabwe.

As part of our partnership with CBM UK, we are hearing from CBM Programme Manager Elfreda Whitty about one of their projects to improve educational outcomes of girls with disabilities in Zimbabwe, and the difference it has made.

It was a bittersweet feeling returning to Zimbabwe in May to see our learning hubs, witnessing the benefits that the project has had for girls with disabilities, while also knowing that the five-year project was coming to an end in July.

Image: From left to right: Plan Zimbabwe Community Mobiliser; Kirsty Smith, CEO CBM UK, Nomazulu, SAGE participant; Elfreda Whitty, Programme Manager CBM UK).

Over the course of the project, Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education (SAGE) has supported 13,460 girls to achieve improved learning outcomes and transition into formal education, training or employment. A total of 689 girls with disabilities were enrolled in the project, with CBM supporting adaptations to their learning environment, and providing assistive devices such as crutches, wheelchairs, spectacles and hearing aids. A safe learning environment allowed girls with disabilities to register strong improvements in both learning and confidence. 

Empowering Girls with Disabilities 

Image: 15-year-old Nomazulu learned how to bake scones and sell them at school thanks to her participation in the SAGE project.

Many of the learning hubs established for this project are very rural and we spent several hours in the car to reach them. Once the girls felt comfortable with us in their classroom, a few told us that they had become more assertive and were far more aware of their rights around sexual and reproductive health (SRHR), where to access SRHR services, as well as the risks and implications related to unprotected sex and child marriage. 

One of the girls we met was 15-year-old Nomazulu, who has learning difficulties. Through SAGE she has learned to bake delicious scones and sell her products in the school and the community. Other girls were charging $3 to community members for new hairstyles, using hairdressing skills they had learned through the programme.

Sustainable Support 

While the project is coming to an end, a huge amount of work has been done to ensure that SAGE continues at every learning hub beyond the official project end. It was very encouraging to meet the Hub Development Committees (HDC) that had been set up and hear how much they cared about SAGE. 

Sitting with one HDC under a tree near to the classroom, members of the committee told us that the greatest change they had seen was those girls that had never been to school could now read and write. They also highlighted the fact that girls with disabilities were being supported with assistive devices such as wheelchairs and were able to improve their social skills through attending the hubs with other girls. The HDC reported that this had also helped in changing attitudes of the community towards persons with disabilities.  

The vice chair of the HDC told us that ‘the gift of this project comes with a responsibility’ as there are neighbouring communities asking about the SAGE model and how to do it. HDCs are currently being supported by the programme to develop community-based action plans and have been given some funds to start small incentive schemes, such as poultry rearing, to be able to continue to support the programme. CBM have also been setting up referral and service pathways with local Organisations of People with Disabilities (OPDs) to ensure the girls with disabilities and their families continue to get support.  

Importantly, CBM and its SAGE partners continue to advocate to the Government of Zimbabwe to also provide support and take full ownership of this hugely impactful project, so that girls with disabilities and other marginalised girls can continue to benefit. 

This project was led by Plan International, with specialist support from CBM to ensure the inclusion of girls with disabilities.

Find out more about CBM’s work transforming the lives of people with disabilities in the world’s poorest places.

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WORK EXPERIENCE 2023

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WORK EXPERIENCE 2023.

Over the course of the summer, QAV has proudly accommodated three young students with work experience across multiple departments within the company ranging from production technicians through to digital filming and editing.

QAV values offering work experience to students who are about to embark on further education. QAV strongly believes in investing in the future and supporting the local community all whilst giving young people a kick start to their careers. Giving them the opportunity to see which direction they want to travel in their lives.

Emily

Throughout her 2 weeks, Emily, from the Ely area, worked closely with our experienced AV team learning the everyday procedures of delivering a professional service in a timely, functional and safe manner. Emily got to experience first-hand what it takes to prep our shows from start to finish. From concept design artwork through to final confirmed kit lists. Then finally to deliver the promised show to our usual high standards.

At the end of her 2 weeks to see how shows work in a live environment, in conjunction with the team, Emily built her own ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ show. For one aspect of the show, utilising some of the industry-leading kit we have to offer and working closely with experienced technicians, Emily set up her own light show. This involved bright moving-head lights, suspended from truss hangs in our Warehouse, controlled by a lighting desk.

She also set up her own audio system. Controlling multiple microphones and speakers simultaneously from a digital sound desk. All whilst ensuring our cameramen and recorders were also getting a clear audio signal.

Projectors were set up on our Fast-Fold screens to display the game show for both participants and viewers before finally undertaking the live show with live hosts and participants.

Emily added – “Exploring equipment like lighting, audio, projecting, cameras and setting equipment up in general has opened my mind and given me a wide variety of choices that I could possibly explore in the future.”

Riley

Riley joined us for a week’s work experience, with an interest in design, film and editing. Working closely with our digital team Riley worked on various media projects across different platforms.

At the start of the week Riley worked with our Graphic Designers to create a logo which could be used later in the week on the other media projects. She learnt the basics of Adobe Illustrator to create a logo based around her name and love of cats. Sourcing different fonts, manipulating images and playing with different colour options.

This logo was then imported into Blender where Riley learnt the basics of the software to create a short looping 3D animation.

Mid-week Riley created a short movie trailer using a framework template. Sourcing additional images and footage to insert into template, selecting the best clips and adjusting the footage speed to match the background music. She also added movie titling and her previously made logo at the end.

Towards the end of the week she learnt about the filming processes we use at QAV. Learning how to setup our interview cameras, and lighting setup. She then filmed some interviews with various members of staff, asking some pre-prepared questions. She then edited the footage, colour grading it, normalising the audio. Before adding on-screen titling in the lower thirds.

Riley added – “Thank you for having me for work experience, I have had an amazing week. I have really enjoyed working here and developing new skills that I can use in the future. It has also helped to boost my confidence in these skills and this feels like a good first step to a career in media.”

James

After a successful and productive engagement as part of last year’s work experience, we were thrilled to welcome James back to our team for an extended duration over the course of this summer.

Continuing from his positive work experience with us last year, it was great to see his dedication and positive attitude return as he lent a hand with our Stock Take and PAT Testing activities.

James’ willingness to come back speaks volumes about the positive environment we’re building here. His previous experience proved invaluable as he seamlessly integrated into our current projects with the team. From helping to manage our inventory with our stock take, to ensuring the safety of our equipment through PAT Testing.

This year James also helped with creating some of our social media content, learning the process from discussing the ideas, taking and choosing the best photos and coming up with accompanying text to bring everything together.

Last year, like many students before him, his meticulous approach to tasks stood out and it was a pleasure to welcome him back for another summer’s work. We appreciate his commitment to accuracy and efficiency and it aligns perfectly with our team’s objectives.

James added – “Thank you for having me back at QAV. I have enjoyed working as part of the team and hope I can come back again next summer.”

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Community

Improving hearing care in Zambia

Tobile is outdoors surrounded by long grass, her arms thrown in the air, a radiant smile on her face
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QAV IN THE COMMUNITY

Tobile is outdoors surrounded by long grass, her arms thrown in the air, a radiant smile on her face

Improving hearing care in Zambia | June 2023.

As part of our partnership with CBM UK, we are hearing about their work to improve ear and hearing care in Zambia, and the difference it made for six-year-old Tobile and her Mum
As part of our partnership with CBM UK, we are hearing about their work to improve ear and hearing care in Zambia, and the difference it made for six-year-old Tobile and her Mum.

Tobile’s story

“I first realised that Tobile has serious hearing problems when she didn’t start talking like other children” explains her Mum, Clara. “Tobile went to school but she wasn’t able to interact. She was treated badly by the other children and also by the teachers.”

CBM’s partner, Beit CURE Hospital, diagnosed that Tobile was deaf in her left ear; with the right ear she could hear just a little bit.

When Tobile was fitted with a hearing aid, all of a sudden she looked very much surprised. The audiology technician asked her: “How old are you?” “Six”, she responded. Her Mum couldn’t believe it, and needed to control her tears. “Can you hear me?” she whispered. “Yes, I can hear everything, Mama!” Tobile smiled.

Before leaving, Tobile walked with her Mum through the backyard of the hospital. First, she was a bit shy beside her mother, then all of a sudden, she shouted: “I can hear the birds!” Tobile smiled and ran around with her arms outstretched. Clara just laughed – “That is pure happiness!”

Tobile sits on her mother’s lap, with a hearing aid visible in her ear. They are both smiling.

“Six-year-old Tobile was fitted with a hearing aid by CBM partners Beit CURE Hospital in Zambia.”

Improving ear and hearing care in Zambia

In Zambia, just one audiologist and five ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists serve a population of more than 19 million people.

The impact of hearing loss is serious and far-reaching. It is both a cause and consequence of poverty. It is an under-recognised consequence of major diseases – and sometimes their treatments. Adults with hearing loss often face unemployment, and communication barriers affect relationships as well as access to information and services. In children, it leads to poor language and cognitive development, and routinely results in a struggle to access education. Hardship and stigma are a reality for all ages and genders.

With our partner Beit Cure Hospital, CBM’s PrevENT project worked from 2017 to 2022 to improve ear and hearing care in three Central Province districts in Zambia. For more than one million people living in Central Province, this project marked the availability of formal, integrated community and specialist ear and hearing care services for the very first time.

During the course of the project:

  • 106 primary health facilities were provided with necessary ear care equipment and medical supplies
  • 13 audiology technicians and 127 nurses and clinical officers were trained in ear and hearing healthcare, including hearing loss identification, treatment of common ear diseases, referral pathways and health promotion
  • 237 community based volunteers were trained in healthcare promotion

Together, these healthcare workers delivered an incredible 120,000 consultations and services over the lifetime of the project. As long as services are maintained, this number stands to increase substantially in the coming years. This project has been a success not only for the individuals who were able to access treatment, but also in substantially strengthening local systems for years to come.

Find out more about CBM’s work transforming the lives of people with disabilities in the world’s poorest places.

Image Copyright: CBM/Daniel Hayduk

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Community

QAV | Quarterly Blogs 2022-2023

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QAV IN THE COMMUNITY

blog 3 | december 2022.

As part of our partnership with CBM UK, we’re hearing about their work in Zimbabwe to help girls with disabilities access education.

Helping girls with disabilities into education in Zimbabwe

As part of our partnership with CBM UK, we’re hearing about their work in Zimbabwe to help girls with disabilities access education.

Elfreda Whitty is a Programme Manager at CBM UK. She travelled to Zimbabwe this year to visit the Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education (SAGE) Programme. She tells us:

 “In May 2022, after a two and a half year hiatus due to COVID-19, I had the opportunity to visit our SAGE project in Zimbabwe. This life-changing programme is led by Plan International, with specialist support from CBM to ensure girls with disabilities are included in education. It is funded by UK aid through the Girls’ Education Challenge, the world’s largest global fund dedicated to girls’ education.

As part of my trip, we visited one of the Community Learning Hubs in a very rural village near the Mozambique border. There, I met a young mother called Faith, who has been blind since birth. When she heard that we were coming, she decided to compose a song to sing to us and her whole community, who had gathered under the shade of the big tree next to the Hub building.”

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/3YxwWw6iZ9E

Faith sang: “Other people used to look down at us before we attended SAGE…but we have learned a lot. We have been taught to sew, to read and write, and gender-based violence is less thanks to SAGE.”

Elfreda continues, “I was amazed at how much confidence Faith had. As did so many other girls I met that day. This was due to the skills they had learned through SAGE, which had not only benefitted the girls, but their whole community too.

The SAGE project supports adolescent girls who have never been to school or dropped out of school due to poverty, child-marriage and disability. These and other barriers are mitigated through a community-based, non-formal education programme which ensures that the hardest to reach girls are not left behind when it comes to accessing basic education. It creates acceptance and inclusivity for girls living with disabilities – like Faith.”

Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education

An estimated 1 in 5 secondary school-age girls in Zimbabwe are not at school – and girls with disabilities are among those most likely to miss out. CBM is working in partnership with Plan International to help girls with disabilities aged 10-19, who are not currently attending school to access education as part of the SAGE programme.

As a part of the programme, 132 community-based Learning Hubs are being set up across 11 districts to reduce the distance girls have to travel to school, making education more accessible for adolescent girls, in particular girls with disabilities. CBM is providing assistive devices, hub modifications and community sensitisation strategies to reduce stigma and ensure girls with disabilities can access these accelerated learning programmes. CBM are also supporting the training of staff and community volunteers to ensure inclusive learning environments.

We are also working with local Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) to identify girls with disabilities and the barriers they face and to ensure they have access to the right assistive devices, as well as providing training and materials to enable community educators to make their teaching inclusive.

The 6-year SAGE programme launched in 2018 and aims to reach over 21,000 girls who have never attended school or have dropped out.

Find out more about CBM’s work transforming the lives of people with disabilities in the world’s poorest places.

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Community

COMMUNITY-BASED INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT – JUNE 2022

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QAV IN THE COMMUNITY

Blog 1 | Community-Based Inclusive Development | June 2022.

This month, as part of our partnership with CBM UK, we’re learning more about their Community-Based Inclusive Development work in the world’s poorest communities.

 

People with disabilities are routinely excluded from health, education, livelihood opportunities and the chance to fully participate in their communities. CBM works in partnership with the Disability Movement at all levels to promote inclusion. Their life-changing community development programmes across Africa and Asia establish the foundations for inclusion, improve access to inclusive education, employment and healthcare, and improve quality of life for women, men and children with disabilities and their families. They use evidence and learning from our community-based work to support the disability movement in advocating for inclusive national laws and policies and achieving global change.

CBM has been partnering with Elim Vocational Training Centre for more than 15 years to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Benue State, Nigeria – ensuring they have better access to health, social, educational, economic and political services.

Inclusive education

CBM and Elim have been enabling students with disabilities to attend mainstream schools. This includes training teaching assistants to support students with disabilities, such as sign language interpretation to support students who are deaf or hard of hearing and guidance on the use of braille and slates to support students who are visually impaired.

Possible

“I want to study law in the university… I want to be a lawyer because I want to defend the rights of the poor and people with disabilities.”

Possible was one of the first students to be enrolled at an inclusive school established by CBM and Elim in 2010. He was immediately given access to resources like braille papers and stylus, as well as receiving support from teaching assistants.

Reuben

“I work in this school to guide them how to write with braille… and also help them copy notes and explain what they do not understand in the class.”

Reuben works as a teaching assistant in one of the inclusive schools supported by CBM and Elim in Nigeria. He became visually impaired himself through a work accident and now provides support to visually impaired students.

Inclusive employment

CBM and Elim have been working to ensure people with disabilities have access to employment through vocational training and providing resources to aid people in setting up their own businesses (e.g. microcredit).

Job

“I received a microcredit for business from Elim. I also received a cutlass and hoe. I have also started weaving, I make baskets and brooms for sale.”

Ten years ago, Job contracted an eye infection, which led to visual impairment. This made it challenging for him to secure employment. Thankfully, Job began to receive support from Elim and has been able to set up a successful business and support himself and his family.

Blessing

“When I finished my training, [Elim] bought me this knitting machine that I am using right now. I make children’s wear like cardigan, pants and shorts, socks, shawls… I am supporting my family”

When Blessing was 15 years old, she fell from a mango tree and sustained a spinal cord injury. As well as livelihoods support and training from CBM’s partner, Elim, Blessing receives regular physiotherapy sessions.

Inclusive healthcare

CBM and Elim have been providing rehabilitation services, such as physiotherapy and assistive devices, to people with disabilities in Nigeria – helping to improve and maintain people’s mobility and their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks and have the best possible quality of life.

Samuel

“I go to the field where we do rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities… We do this because there are some persons with disabilities that may not be able to come to the clinic for treatment and the reason is the terrain is very bad. There is lack of mobility to convey them to the clinic centre to have adequate treatment, so in that case I go to the field.”

Samuel has been working as a physiotherapist with Elim for the past five years. He works with people living with disabilities, helping to improve their mobility and quality of life.

Samuel often visits patients at home, travelling by motorbike to hard-to-reach, rural communities – offering services to people in the Igede region, which has about 400,000 inhabitants spread over 235 villages. Samuel also helps families understand disability and challenge social stigma around disability.

Paul

“It was Elim who gave me this wheelchair… With the help of the wheelchair, I can go from one place to another…”

About two years ago, Paul was diagnosed with a disease that affected his spinal cord leading to quadriplegia: paralysis affecting his both arms and legs. He was a schoolteacher before the diagnosis but immediately lost his source of income, leaving his wife as the sole provider for himself and his three children.

Elim provide practical support for the family, such as providing food and a wheelchair to aid his mobility, and visit him at home to do regular physiotherapy sessions to prevent the condition from worsening.

Find out more about CBM’s work in the world’s poorest places.

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Community

QAV’S ‘RIGHT TO SIGHT’ EYE HEALTH JOURNEY 10

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QAV’S ‘RIGHT TO SIGHT’ EYE HEALTH JOURNEY 10.

The Coronavirus pandemic is having an alarming impact on the numbers of people living avoidably blind.
Month 10 | COVID-19 and the impact on avoidable blindness

The Coronavirus pandemic is having an alarming impact on the numbers of people living avoidably blind.

75% of the world’s blindness can be treated or prevented. The challenges accessing eye services or treatments during the pandemic, especially in low and middle income countries, are leading to more people than ever needlessly losing their sight.

This month, as part of our Right to Sight campaign with CBM UK, we’re hearing more about the impact of COVID-19 from CBM’s Inclusive Eye Health Advisor, Dr Monicah Bitok:

“It’s been very worrying to see the impact of covid. In countries where the levels of blindness were already shocking, they are now even more alarming. During periods of lockdown over the past 2 years some eye health units were closed completely, only dealing with trauma cases. But when these clinics opened, patients were required to be covid tested before they came for surgery. Many of these patients cannot afford the journey in the first place from rural areas to the hospital, so to pay for a covid test on top of journey costs was impossible, and as a result many people missed out on vital sight saving operations. For many the damage has been irreversible”.
Listen to Monicah’s interview on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire to find out more.

CBM is currently running a fundraising appeal called Light up Lives, which QAV is supporting. Donations will help to scale up CBM’s work preventing blindness in the world’s poorest places – and thanks to a group of generous funders, all donations before 28 April will be DOUBLED!

The funds raised will enable people with treatable blindness to see again through sight-restoring surgery, eye treatments and glasses.
Find out more about Light up Lives and how you can get involved.

Deeper dive: the blindness crisis in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world. The leading cause is cataract, which can be treated with straightforward surgery.

The country has a desperate shortage of trained eye health workers and most hospitals don’t have the equipment they need and the dire economic crisis means that even transport to hospital is out of reach for many people – and the situation has become even more desperate due to Coronavirus.

In 2022, CBM hopes to work with their long-term partner Norton Eye Unit, one of the leading eye hospitals in Zimbabwe, to improve their capacity to deliver inclusive eye health services, including sight-restoring cataract surgeries.

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Community

QAV’S ‘RIGHT TO SIGHT’ EYE HEALTH JOURNEY 9

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QAV’S ‘RIGHT TO SIGHT’ EYE HEALTH JOURNEY.

It’s currently World Glaucoma Week (6-12 March)… but what is glaucoma?
Month 9 | Glaucoma

It’s currently World Glaucoma Week (6-12 March)… but what is glaucoma? This month, as part of our Right to Sight campaign with CBM UK, we’re learning all about this eye condition and what CBM and their partner eye hospitals in lower income countries are doing to protect people from glaucoma and prevent them from going irreversibly blind.

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Increased pressure within the eye damages the optic nerve, which carries visual information from the eye to the brain.  Over time, increased pressure inside the eyeball causes a slow death of nerve fibres. It leads to eye pain, headaches, sickness and loss of vision.

It is vital that glaucoma is diagnosed promptly and treated effectively as without treatment glaucoma causes permanent blindness. Damage to the optic nerve cannot be repaired, but treatment can halt the progress of the disease and prevent further sight loss.

An estimated 76 million people worldwide have glaucoma. 6.9 million of them are blind or visually impaired as a result of the condition [WHO World Report on Vision 2019]. People living in developing countries are much more likely to lose their sight to glaucoma, due to lack of access to eye tests and treatment.

What help is needed?

Glaucoma is treated with eye drops, laser treatment or surgery, which relieves pressure on the optic nerve and stops the condition from advancing further.

CBM UK is working in the world’s poorest places to protect people from glaucoma and other blinding conditions, working with eye hospitals and other local partners to:

  • Improve access to eye tests and screening so glaucoma is diagnosed before it’s too late.
  • Enable people with glaucoma to access sight-saving treatment, including through outreach camps in remote places far from the nearest hospital.
  • Develop more effective treatment for Glaucoma by supporting the first trial of laser treatment in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Train specialist doctors, nurses and other health workers to identify and treat eye conditions like glaucoma, and equip hospital eye departments, especially in rural areas.

Find out more about the pioneering laser treatment trial supported by CBM.

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