River blindness – also called Onchocerciasis – is a tropical disease that can cause blindness and disfigurement. This neglected disease is caused by a parasitic worm housed in blackflies and is spread to people through consistent blackfly bites. It is most prominent in remote agricultural areas with moving rivers. Although possible, it is most often multiple blackfly bites over a person's lifetime that cause permanent damage to the eyes and skin and that can lead to blindness. Symptoms include: intense itchiness; swelling; skin changes; eye lesions; altered vision; skin nodules caused by living adult worms; and blindness.
The aim is to effectively control onchocerciasis (river blindness) by the year 2000.
This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.