Public health experts have warned that treatable diseases that have been neglected and nearly eradicated in Africa are making a resurgence, The New York Times reported.
What is going on?
Onchocerciasis, or “river blindness,” is a “painful and debilitating” vector-borne parasitic disease transmitted by infected chickens, according to the World Health Organization.
Dr. Vivien Sil Mabouang, Cameroon’s head of health services, told the Times that public health officials were on the verge of eliminating river blindness locally.
But in early 2025, a sudden, comprehensive and devastating cut to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) abruptly stopped funding the initiative.
The Times reported that pharmaceutical companies provided drugs free of charge, but longstanding American aid flows covered logistics such as shipping and personnel needed to distribute the treatments.
Consequently, officials like Dr. Sil Mabouang were forced to triage aid and move forward with drastically reduced resources.
As the Times observed, neglected diseases such as river blindness are often called “biblical”, and have “plagued mankind for so long that they are mentioned in ancient texts.” Dr. Emilienne Epée, of the Ministry of Health in Cameroon, admitted that the unanticipated reduction made tough choices.
“These are neglected diseases. The government’s priority is to keep children from dying of malaria, and I understand that,” explained Epée.
Why is this concerning?
USAID’s cuts have been truly chaotic, affecting programs in several underserved areas around the world.
In the wake of the Agency’s loss of funding, millions of dollars in food aid and paid medical resources were expected to be incinerated rather than distributed despite Europe’s efforts to intervene, and potentially life-saving research was halted.
At the time, public health experts around the world warned that the consequences would be horrific and deadly.
In November, Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health estimated that “hundreds of thousands of deaths from infectious diseases and malnutrition” had already resulted. As the Times article showed, however, not all adverse impacts were fatal.
River blindness requires 10 to 15 years of treatment, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and Dr. Sil Mabouang said officials would have to “start over at zero” if the aid pipeline is restored.
François Ewolo told the Times that he was at high risk of getting onchocerciasis, and that his mother suffered from it before the treatment was widely available.
“There was nothing to help her – we don’t want to go back to that time,” lamented Ewolo. Medical experts emphasized how close the destruction was when USAID was emptied.
“A little [neglected] disease is close to global elimination — one, very close,” the Times said, citing a record low number of Guinea worm infections in 2025.
What is being done about it?
According to the outlet, there was a chance that some of the vast progress could be protected if USAID or similar funding resumed in 2026.
Dr. Bouba Bassirou led Cameroon’s onchocerciasis program, and he was determined.
“Giving up is not an option, so we are finding a way,” Bassirou promised.
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