In pictures: 'Miracle' village

The cause was a disease called Onchoceriasis, also known as River Blindness.

It brings muscle pains, skin aggravations and eventual blindness. Onchoceriasis is carried by the tiny, black simulium fly, which breeds close to fast-flowing water.

Fougadougou is located on the banks of the Marigo, a tributary to the River Niger.

Some 18 million people are infected globally: 99% in West and Central Africa.