Women are most at risk from trachoma: here’s how we can help

Enlisting the help of female case finders

Grace Ajege, Sightsavers’ technical manager for trachoma in Nigeria, explains that female health professionals can play a vital role in reaching women who would otherwise be left behind.

“Male community volunteers cannot enter some households and examine female patients for signs of trachoma due to religious practices, while women are usually trusted and accepted into people’s homes.”

Through the Accelerate programme, Sightsavers has helped to train more than 90,000 female ‘case finders’ across 11 countries. These community volunteers are able to carry out eye examinations and refer any suspected trichiasis cases to health facilities for specialist care. More than 51,000 women have benefitted from this training in Nigeria alone.

“Women were afraid to come forward – not any more”

Grace Ajege explains that these efforts are already showing positive results.

“In the past, we’ve seen that many women were afraid to come forward for an operation, even though they were suffering with advanced trachoma.

“In those Nigerian states where we’ve had the most success in hiring female case finders and surgeons, we’ve seen that the picture has changed. Over time, the number of women refusing surgery has fallen dramatically.”

She believes that women may feel more at ease when receiving treatment from someone of the same gender. Some women may also have become more confident after seeing the positive impact that surgery has had for others in their community.

Sightsavers is also stepping up efforts to hire female trachoma case finders and surgeons across other countries where we work. Last year, roughly three quarters of the case finders trained across Senegal and Zimbabwe were women.

Based on what we’ve seen in Nigeria, this should translate into more female trachoma patients receiving potentially sight-saving operations.

This matters in a world where women’s health is often overlooked or deprioritised. A recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with the McKinsey Health Institute, found that globally women spend 25 per cent more time in ill health than men.

There’s a strong case for addressing this injustice. The WEF report found that every $1 invested in women’s health unlocks $3 in economic growth, and if we can close the women’s health gap, this could boost the global economy by $1 trillion per year.

Our experience with the Accelerate programme has shown that it’s possible to take concrete action to improve women’s access to healthcare. With the right resources and funding, we can make this a reality for more women around the world.