Malawi first country in southern Africa to eliminate trachoma: WHO

Context

Malawi has become the first country in southern Africa to eliminate trachoma, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced September 21, 2022.

• This makes Malawi the fourth country in WHO's Africa region to achieve this milestone after Ghana (June 2018), Gambia (April 2021) and Togo (May 2022).
  
  

What is Trachoma?

• It is a bacterial eye infection that damages the eye lids.
• Trachoma is one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases.  
• It causes the eye lashes to turn inwards. 
• It leads to irreversible vision losses and blindness if not corrected with surgery.
• Trachoma is caused by bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis.

What causes Trachoma?

• Trachoma is caused due to poor environmental and personal hygiene. 
• This mainly occurs when the person faces inadequate access to water and sanitation.

Background

• The World Health Organisation launched a roadmap of Global Targets to tackle twenty Neglected Tropical Diseases including Trachoma. 
• The roadmap aims to eliminate all the twenty diseases by 2030.

Trachoma in India

• India became free from Trachoma in 2017. 
• According to the National Trachoma Survey Report, the overall prevalence of Trachoma was 0.7% in the country. 
• This is much below the elimination criteria defined by the World Health Organisation.