This film is part of a larger series we produced for the Mectizan Donation Program in which we detail the full history and journey of Mectizan pills. From the initiation of testing Ivermectin as a treatment for Onchocerciasis and on to the rollout of its distribution across the world, the series shares the success of a simple yet effective way to bring life-changing results to many millions of people worldwide.

In this, the 3rd film of the 5-part series, we highlight the pivotal role of Community-Directed Distributors who play a key role in Mectizan donation. These volunteers ensure that members of their communities have constant access to treatment for Onchocerciasis and Lymphatic Filariasis, and reach some of the most remote parts of their countries in order to ensure these diseases can be eliminated.

We treated this particular episode like an action film, where CDDs are our hero. With fast and engaging montages we wanted to make sure the viewer is as impressed with these volunteers work as we are.

This film looks at the success in overcoming a crippling disease that has besieged Nigeria, and large parts of Africa for decades. Onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness causes unbearable itching and ultimately blindness to the point where river-side communities were abandoned.

Thanks to the dedication of people like Nasarawa State Coordinator for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Jacob Righain, the support of NGO partners The Carter Center and donation of the treating drug Mectizan by Merck & Co., local communities have been empowered to break the transmission of river blindness and create a platform for future disease interventions.

Filmed just before the COVID-19 lockdown kicked in, we worked with a talented Nigerian crew to get right to the heart of the story. We edited back in the UK and created a bespoke soundtrack to help transport the viewer deeper into the world of neglected tropical diseases.

It forms part of a wider suite of films used in different ways that have told the Mectizan Donation Program story over the years, collaborating with multiple global partners from the Nigerian Ministry of Health and local government, to Sightsavers, the Carter Center and other key players in the game to get full engagement from the offset.

Staying the course is what it has taken to see River Blindness, a remote neglected tropical disease carried by the bites of black flies, slowly becoming a disease of the past.

In 1987, Merck committed to donate Mectizan – as much as needed, for as long as needed – with the goal to help eliminate river blindness. To celebrate the Mectizan Donation Program‘s 35th anniversary we went through our archives of footage, some filmed by us, some by scientists many years ago, and worked with a South African graphics artist to tell the story of 35 years of progress towards eliminating one of the most robust diseases known to mankind.

With a bespoke composed soundtrack and in-house voice-over, we managed condense 35 years into a powerful 3 and a half minutes!

The film was shown at the annual Mectizan Expert Committee meeting in Malawi in 2022, and since was sent out by MSD CEO Rob Davis to all their staff.