The battle to control onchocerciasis in West Africa, a brutal disease that blinded tens of thousands of people and forced many more to abandon some of the region's most fertile lands, has been an outstanding success. That's the good news. The bad news is that in oncho-freed areas where the villagers are returning in large numbers to reclaim precious land, resettlement has been so rapid that already fragile ecosystems are under serious threat. Where once the enemy was the disease-carrying black fly, today the problems are deforestation, erosion and overgrazing. In other oncho-freed areas, the problem is isolation and lack of basic support services.
Many areas lack roads, markets, schools, and reliable supplies of water.
Settlers moving into these isolated areas face a harsh and challenging life. Potential settlers need support for basic services or the rich potential of these areas will remain a distant dream. Determining who owns the land and who has rights to farm it is another serious problem. There are no simple solutions. As a mother and grandmother, I am grateful that my family no longer has to worry about the black fly and that children will not suffer from blindness.