Global Onchocerciasis Network for Elimination (GONE)

• More than 150 onchocerciasis partners, including national onchocerciasis coordinators from health ministries in endemic countries, national onchocerciasis elimination committee chairs, experts, researchers gathered in Mbour, Senegal, for the first meeting of the new Global Onchocerciasis Elimination Network (GONE).

ABOUT ONCHOCERCIASIS

• Onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) is the second leading infectious cause of blindness after trachoma.
• It is classified as a neglected tropical disease (NTD).
• It can cause intense itching, rashes, skin discoloration, visual impairment and eye disease leading to permanent blindness.
• The parasite worm Onchocerca volvulus, is spread by the bites of infected black flies that breed in rapidly flowing rivers.
• Globally, at least 244 million people in 31 countries suffer from this debilitating and painful disease.
• Africa is home to 99% of the people at risk of onchocerciasis; the remaining 1% live on the border between Brazil and Venezuela.
• Four countries have been verified by the World Health Organization (WHO) for eliminating transmission of the disease: Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico.