Medical activist leads crusade to reduce river blindness in Naga

Founder and Executive Director of Cornerstone Medical Outreach (CORMO) Dr Jessica Samira Bogobiri, has made a clarion call for residents in unprivileged communities to seek early treatment for preventable diseases.

She made this known when her team offered free medical treatment to over 1,000 residents at Naaga in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region of Ghana.

The community is noted for the high incidence of river blindness, leading to many residents losing their eyesight due to delayed treatment.

Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is contracted when one is bitten by a black fly- an insect that has infested the Naga River in the Naaga community.

Medical activist leads crusade to reduce river blindness in Naga

It is against this backdrop that Dr Bogobiri asked residents of the Naaga community to seek early medical treatment at their health centre whenever they fall sick.

She said seeking early medical attention would enable health professionals diagnose “potentially serious conditions” so that they can be referred early to the municipal hospital in Navrongo.

“It has a river which is infested with the black fly that causes onchocerciasis (river blindness). Other conditions such as skin infections, malaria, and respiratory tract infections are prevalent. These informed our decision to choose Naaga for the outreach this time,” she added.

The CORMO team provided health education in the Naaga community, covering topics such as the causes, prevention, and treatment of diseases like malaria, skin infections, respiratory tract infections, and onchocerciasis. They conducted free medical screenings for over 1,000 individuals, including both children and adults.

In addition to providing free healthcare, the Naaga community received significant benefits from clothing and footwear donations as part of CORMO’s outreach program.