Kenya Strives to Eradicate Blindness-Causing Trachoma

NAIROBI - Kenyan authorities are working to eradicate trachoma, an infectious disease that is a leading cause of blindness in Africa.  About 7 million people in central Kenya are at risk for the disease.

As Elizabeth Partoti, sits outside a clinic in Kajiado county in Kenya, she stares, unseeingly, into the dry and brittle spaces outside the health facility. In a few minutes a surgeon will carry out a corrective eye operation and allow the more than 70-year-old woman to see clearly for the first time in over a decade. She is one of thousands of people in Kenya who have either lost or are gradually losing their sight due to trachoma. “My eyes have been bothering me because I have grown old,” she said. “The eyelashes are always getting into my eyes, causing me a lot of pain, my granddaughter has been helping, removing them physically with her fingers, but it is very painful.’’