The bite of the blackfly transmits microfilariae, or baby worms, that can grow into large adult worms that live in nodules under the skin. Nearly 200 million people are at risk of infection. It is estimated that approximately twenty million people are currently infected, including more than a million with vision loss. River blindness is overwhelmingly a disease of sub-Saharan Africa and is endemic in 31 countries. It is there to commemorate the global fight against river blindness, or onchocerciasis, a debilitating and neglected tropical disease caused by a worm and transmitted by the bite of the blackfly, which breeds in fast-flowing rivers. Immediately opposite the main entrance of the World Health Organisation (WHO) headquarters in Geneva is a statue of an African boy leading his blind father with a stick. Two Australians successfully navigated the incredibly complex web of international drug development to better fight the scourge of river blindness. Ros Byrne on Sally Lloyd: the essence of community development.Heather-lee Ollington on Sally Lloyd: the essence of community development.Michelle Halse on Sally Lloyd: the essence of community development.Caroline Bellair on Sally Lloyd: the essence of community development.Gail Ellis on Sally Lloyd: the essence of community development.Bill Armstrong: volunteering with attitude.Phillip Passmore: not your ordinary pharmacist.Not the Millennium Villages: Colin and Ria in Eastern Indonesia.Helen Evans: a decade on the frontiers of global health.Aisyiyah: 99 years of women’s empowerment.Robyn Alders: saving chooks, empowering women.Gabrielle Persley: bridging bioscience and development.Fessehaie Abraham: the refugee who brought Eritrea to Australia.Gillian Mellsop: from Auckland to Addis.The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre: three decades of Australian support.Kylie Mines and Motivation Australia: change in motion.Sanasa: Sri Lanka’s Grameen Bank, and Australia’s role.Elizabeth Reid: transforming adversity into impact.Really ending river blindness: Mark Sullivan and John Reeder.Glenyys and Graham Romanes: trailblazers.Sally Lloyd: the essence of community development.
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