Nairobi: The number of people requiring interventions against trachoma, the world's leading infectious cause of blindness, has dropped below 100 million for the first time since global records began. Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease transmitted through contact with infected eye discharges via hands, clothes, hard surfaces, and flies.

According to Kenya News Agency, there were 1.5 billion people estimated to be at risk in 2002, which has now decreased to 97.1 million as of November 2025, marking a 94 percent reduction. This milestone reflects decades of sustained efforts by national health ministries, local communities, and international partners who have implemented the WHO-endorsed SAFE strategy. This strategy includes Surgery to treat trachomatous trichiasis, Antibiotics to clear infection, and Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement to reduce transmission and sustain progress.

Dr. Daniel Ngamije Madandi, Director of the Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases Department at WHO, stated that the reduction of the population requiring interventions against trachoma to below 100 million is evidence of strong country leadership and consistent implementation of the SAFE strategy. He noted that progress across all trachoma-endemic WHO regions demonstrates that SAFE is both effective and adaptable across contexts. WHO remains committed to supporting countries through the provision of technical assistance to achieve the global elimination of trachoma as a public health problem by 2030.

Following the recent validation of Egypt and Fiji as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, the total number of countries validated by WHO now stands at 27, including at least one country in every trachoma-endemic WHO region. Global progress for trachoma has been supported by a range of stakeholders, including implementing non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and donors, many of which collaborate through the International Coalition for Trachoma Control (ICTC). Additionally, Pfizer Inc. has donated more than 1.1 billion doses of azithromycin through the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI).

These partnerships have enabled health ministries to distribute donated medicines efficiently and effectively while strengthening community health systems. Michaela Kelly, Chair of ICTC, emphasized that the trachoma community is built on data and partnerships, elements that have enabled the SAFE strategy to be scaled up and driven the significant reduction in trachoma globally. Kelly highlighted that although a 94 percent decrease in people at risk since 2002 is significant, nearly 100 million people remain at risk. Approximately USD 300 million is needed to fill funding gaps for surgery, antibiotics, surveys, and priority research to achieve the 2030 global elimination target.

Kelly added that ICTC will continue to provide a platform for global stakeholders to collaborate and maximize contributions to health ministries in support of elimination targets. While Kenya has made progress and eliminated other neglected tropical diseases like sleeping sickness in August 2025 and Guinea worm disease in 2018, trachoma remains an endemic issue in several counties. Kenya is working towards the national elimination of the disease as a public health problem by 2026, earlier than the global 2030 target.

The number of endemic counties in Kenya has decreased from 12 to approximately five (Narok, Kajiado, Turkana, West Pokot, and Baringo) due to ongoing interventions. Efforts to eliminate trachoma are aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 3.3, which calls for an end to the epidemic of neglected tropical diseases, as well as the NTD road map 2021-2030, targeting global elimination of trachoma by 2030.

In 1996, WHO launched the Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma, a network of governments, nongovernmental organizations, and academic institutions. Though the disease remains endemic in many vulnerable communities, where access to clean water, sanitation, and health care is limited, WHO continues to support endemic countries to accelerate progress towards the target of eliminating trachoma as a public health problem worldwide.

Source: Kenya News Agency