Some patient tori dey turn to somtin wey big pass just medical case wey dem go keep for file inside one cabinet for clinic or hospital.

Dr Aminata Ba, wey be eye doctor for one remote area for Mauritania wey dem dey call Brakna region, remember well well di day one old woman wey her name na Fatimetou waka enter her clinic.

Di woman no fit see well again. Di sickness wey dem dey call trachoma don make her eyelid dey turn inside, dey scratch her eye cornea anytime she blink.

"She don dey feel pain for many years," Dr Ba tok give TRT Afrika. "Her eye don almost blind finish, and na her grandchildren dey guide her waka. Trachoma no dey only take person sight, e dey take person dignity too."

But because of di public health campaign wey dem don dey do, tori like Fatimetou own dey reduce for Mauritania.

Di World Health Organisation (WHO) don officially confirm say Mauritania don succeed for di fight to comot trachoma as public health wahala. Dis one na big achievement for di fight against dis painful and preventable disease.

Trachoma na one tropical disease wey di bacteria wey dem dey call Chlamydia trachomatis dey cause. Before-before, na di main reason why people dey blind for Mauritania. Di disease dey spread if person touch infected people, dirty surface or even flies. If di infection happen many times, e fit make person lose sight permanently.

Mauritania don join six other African countries wey don comot trachoma. Ghana do am for 2018, Gambia for 2021, Malawi and Togo for 2022, and Mali plus Benin for 2023.

For di 78th World Health Assembly wey happen for Geneva this May, Mauritania Minister of Health, Abdallahi Sidi Mohamed Wedih, and di country ambassador to Switzerland, Aïcha Vall Vergès, collect certificate wey show say public health effort fit remove disease even for places wey no get plenty resources.

"Dis one na another example of di better progress wey we don make for di fight against neglected tropical diseases. E dey give hope to other countries wey still dey fight trachoma," na wetin WHO director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tok.

Trachoma still dey for 37 countries, and e dey affect about 103 million people, wey 90% of dem dey for Africa. But since 2014, di number of people wey need antibiotic treatment for trachoma don reduce from 189 million to 93 million for di continent.

Mauritania fight against trachoma start since di 1960s, but na for di early 2000s dem begin dey serious about am. With WHO support, di Organisation for di Prevention of Blindness and di Institute of Tropical Ophthalmology of Africa help dem map di disease and join di fight against trachoma for di National Programme for di Fight against Blindness.

Di success na because dem use WHO "SAFE" strategy – surgery for people wey di disease don reach advanced stage, antibiotics to treat di infection, teach people how to keep face clean, and improve water supply plus sanitation.

One important part of di effort na di mass distribution of di antibiotic medicine Azithromycin through di International Trachoma Initiative. Health workers also do public awareness campaign to teach people about hygiene and how to get clean water.

"To comot trachoma na big victory for public health for Mauritania," na wetin Dr Charlotte Faty Ndiaye, WHO representative for Mauritania, tok. "Dis success show di strong leadership and commitment of di government, plus di hard work of health workers, communities and partners."

To comot trachoma na di second time Mauritania dey win against neglected tropical disease. Dem don comot Guinea-worm disease since 2009. Now, di country don join 21 others wey WHO don validate say dem don comot trachoma.

Even as dem dey celebrate, health officials still dey careful. WHO dey help Mauritania monitor di places wey di disease dey before to make sure say e no come back.

For Dr Ba, di success dey touch her heart well well. "We don give people like Fatimetou chance to see their family again," she tok give TRT Afrika. "But we gatz dey watchful. Nobody suppose lose their sight to disease wey we don sabi how to fight."