NEW DELHI: WHO felicitated India on Tuesday for eliminating trachoma, an eye disease, as a public health problem. India is the third country in the South-East Asia Region after Nepal and Myanmar to achieve this feat.
“India’s success is due to the strong leadership of its government and the commitment of ophthalmologists and other cadres of healthcare workers,” said Saima Wazed, Regional Director, World Health Organisation (WHO) South East Asia Region (SEARO).
She said all of them worked with partners to ensure effective surveillance, diagnosis, and management of active trachoma, provision of surgical services for trichiasis, and promotion of water, sanitation, and hygiene, particularly facial cleanliness, among communities.
India received the citation at the ongoing 77th Regional Conference of WHO South East Asia Region held in New Delhi.
On X, while congratulating India for eliminating trachoma as a public health problem, Wazed said, “Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease and the leading infectious cause of blindness across the world.”
The award was received by Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director (National Health Mission) in the Union Health Ministry.
The health ministry said the recognition from WHO “is a significant milestone, as this affirms the country’s commitment to eye health, disease prevention, and universal health coverage.”
According to Dr. Virender S Sangwan, Director, of Translational Research and Innovation, Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital, Daryganj, New Delhi, trachoma is a bacterial infection of the inner linings of eyelids and it is a potentially blinding condition.
“It is usually spread by contact and signs of poor hygiene. Now that WHO declared the elimination of trachoma from India as a public health problem it is very big news. It means the health of people is improving,” he said.
WHO estimates suggest that 150 million people worldwide are affected by Trachoma and 6 million of them are blind or at risk of visually disabling complications.
Trachoma is found in underprivileged communities living in poor environmental conditions and was amongst the leading cause of blindness in India during 1950-60.
The government of India launched the National Trachoma Control Program in 1963 and later Trachoma control efforts were integrated into India’s National Program for Control of Blindness (NPCB).
In 1971, blindness due to Trachoma was 5% and today, owing to the various interventions under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), it has come down to less than 1%, the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.
WHO SAFE strategy was implemented throughout the country wherein SAFE stands for the adoption of surgery, antibiotics, facial hygiene, environmental cleanliness, etc.
As a result, in 2017, India was declared free from infective Trachoma.
However, surveillance continued for trachoma cases in all the districts of India from 2019 onwards till 2024.
The National Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT only) Survey was also carried out in 200 endemic districts of the country under NPCBVI from 2021-24, which was a mandate set by WHO in order to declare that India has eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem.
All the reports were compiled in a specific dossier format by the NPCBVI team and were shared with the WHO country office for final scrutiny.
Finally, after years of fighting against Trachoma, WHO declared that India has eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem.
In this eye disease, infection spreads through personal contact (via hands, clothes, bedding, or hard surfaces) and by flies that have been in contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person.
With repeated episodes of infection over many years, the eyelashes may be drawn in so that they rub on the surface of the eye. This causes pain and may permanently damage the cornea.
In 2021, 69,266 people received surgical treatment for an advanced stage of the disease, and 64.6 million people were treated with antibiotics, as per WHO. Global antibiotic coverage in 2021 was 44 per cent.