In the global health community there is so much focus on death–deaths caused by a disease, deaths averted by an intervention, deaths prevented through programming–that we often forget that over a billion people continue to live each day with disability from infection, injury, and illness. At the Global Network, we frequently talk about the burden of NTDs in terms of DALYs, or disability-adjusted life years–years of potential life lost due to premature mortality and the years of productive life lost due to disability–because while NTDs do not frequently kill those infected, they are horrifically disabling.
Today, on the UN-designated International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we want to share a few stories of NTDs’ disabling impact, as a reminder that death is only part of the global health story. Just as importantly, though, we want so share the good news–that in each of these cases, treatment is widely available and incredibly inexpensive.
Anjani: As she collected drinking water alongside other children on the banks of a river in southern Nigeria, Ajani had no idea that the water running through her village bred flies that would infect her with a disfiguring and disabling condition. By the age of six, Ajani had contracted onchocerciasis. This disease, commonly called river blindness, infects 37 million of the world’s most vulnerable people and causes partial and often complete blindness, oozing infections of the eyes, and immeasurable itching and pain. People in this part of Africa say ‘the river eats your eyes;’ in some communities, nearly 15% of the population is blind, with as many as 40% of adults visually impaired, robbing many of their livelihoods and condemning entire communities to a continued cycle of poverty and disease.
- The good news: Within just four years of receiving her first annual treatment (donated by Merck & Co.), her skin was completely cleared of lesions. Her husband came back, pleading with his father-in-law for her return. Today, villagers from surrounding communities seek Ajani out, eager to learn how her beautiful skin was miraculously restored. Best of all, Ajani’s village requested that she become the local distributor for Mectizan, elevating her status, helping her deliver essential aid to the community, and transforming her into a valued spokeswoman for change.
