The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday May 16 that Benin and Mali have eliminated trachoma as a public health problem.
This eye disease is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. The infection is transmitted from person to person through contaminated fingers, fomites and flies that have come into contact with secretions from the eyes or nose of an infected person.
“WHO congratulates the health authorities of Benin and Mali and their network of global and local partners for these important milestones,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, adding that after the successes of these two countries, “trachoma remains endemic in 23 countries in the WHO African Region, bringing us closer to the trachoma elimination goal set in the Roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030”.
Benin and Mali joined four other countries that had already received WHO validation for trachoma elimination, namely Ghana (June 2018), Gambia (April 2021), Togo (May 2022) and Malawi (September 2022).
At the global level, the two states have extended the list of 15 countries previously validated by the WHO for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. These are Cambodia, China, Gambia, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Morocco, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Togo and Vanuatu.
WHO emphasizes that Cotonou and Bamako have implemented the strategy recommended by the UN agency to eliminate trachoma. This consists of surgery to treat late complications of trachoma, antibiotics to eliminate infection, cleanliness of the face and improvement of the environment, especially access to water and sanitation, to reduce transmission.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1176 of 05/17/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
