With this, India joins the list of 19 countries, including Nepal and Myanmar, which have successfully eradicated the disease.
This journey began in 1963 with a Government of India project in which WHO and UNICEF were key partners.
Trachoma, a leading cause of blindness worldwide, has been a formidable challenge in India for decades.
It is an eye disease caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. The infection spreads from person to person through surfaces contaminated by contaminated fingers, flies or eyes or nasal discharge from an infected person.
Environmental factors are also responsible for its spread, including lack of sanitation, overcrowding in households, and inadequate access to water and sanitation.
Repeated infections in childhood cause lesions on the inside of the upper eyelid, causing the edge of the eyelid to turn inward and touch the eyeball.
This is a painful condition known as trachomatous trichiasis. If left untreated, it can cause vision loss and even blindness.
Now the World Health Organization has confirmed that trachoma has been completely eliminated as a public health problem in India.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said, “India’s elimination of trachoma as a public health problem is a testament to the country’s commitment to reducing the suffering of millions of people due to this devastating disease.”
“WHO has worked closely with India on this achievement, and we congratulate the government, health workers and partners who contributed significantly to make this possible.”
Saima Wazed, regional director for the Southeast Asia region at WHO, said India’s success was the result of strong government leadership and the commitment of ophthalmologists and health workers.
important achievement
With this achievement, India joins the list of 19 other countries worldwide, including Nepal and Myanmar in the WHO South-East Asia region, which have completely eradicated the disease.
Although trachoma is preventable, blindness caused by trachoma is very difficult to reverse. Trachoma remains a public health problem in 39 countries and is responsible for the blindness of approximately 19 million people.
Effective investment
This journey began in 1963 when the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India started a trachoma control project with the support of WHO and UNICEF.
Under this, a comprehensive program to eradicate trachoma was implemented, based on safe strategies recommended by WHO.
Yani surgery, antibiotics, oral hygiene, and environmental improvements.
Under this, community-based interventions to eliminate trachoma include surgical treatment, topical antibiotic treatment and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions, along with health education for behavior change to reduce transmission.
These programs were expanded to include rural areas as well.
In 1963, the Government of India, in collaboration with WHO and UNICEF, started the Trachoma Control Project.
After the National Program for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI) was launched in 1976, the activities of the Trachoma Control Program were merged with it.
In 2005, trachoma caused 4% of blindness in India.
A regional review team documented and thoroughly reviewed India’s achievements and submitted a proposal to the World Health Organization to recognize the national elimination of trachoma as a public health problem.
“This milestone is the result of strong leadership and years of effort at the national and state levels to combat trachoma,” said Dr. Roderico H. Afrin, WHO representative in India
“This success has been achieved due to the implementation of the WHO’s Safe Strategy, which includes coordination of surgical and drug delivery by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and India’s success in the Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Jeevan Mission to eradicate trachoma by the Government of India’s initiatives,” it added. An inspiration to nations.”
