Mohammed bin Rashid launches initiative to help 7 million fight blindness

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, today launched a new humanitarian initiative aimed at combating river blindness, a debilitating tropical disease that continues to affect millions in vulnerable communities across the world.

Announcing the initiative through a post on X, Sheikh Mohammed said the project falls under the umbrella of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and will target seven million beneficiaries over the next three years. The programme will be implemented by Noor Dubai Foundation.

“Empowering people by fighting the darkness they live in is among the noblest humanitarian missions,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote.

“Every eye to which we restore light is a new eye that can witness the beauty of this world. It is renewed hope and a new life.”

River blindness, medically known as onchocerciasis, is a parasitic disease transmitted through the bites of infected blackflies and is considered one of the leading infectious causes of blindness worldwide. 

The disease primarily affects communities living near rivers in parts of Africa and other tropical regions, where limited access to healthcare often worsens the long-term impact on patients and families.