MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2023) The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday that Benin and Mali had eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, marking a step closer toward the elimination of the disease in the whole of Africa.
"WHO has validated Benin and Mali as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making them the fifth and sixth countries in WHO's African Region to achieve this significant milestone," the organization said in a statement.
The two African nations managed to eliminate trachoma by implementing a WHO-recommended strategy, which includes measures such as environmental improvement to reduce transmission, distribution of antibiotics to clear the infection as well as surgeries to treat late trachoma complications, the WHO added.
"WHO congratulates the health authorities of Benin and Mali and their network of global and local partners for these milestones. Following Benin's and Mali's success, trachoma remains endemic in 23 countries in WHO's African Region, bringing us a step closer towards the elimination target for trachoma set in the road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021-2030," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, as quoted in the statement.
The list of African states that have previously received validation by the WHO for eliminating the disease includes Ghana, Gambia, Togo and Malawi, the statement read.
Trachoma is one of the leading infectious causes of blindness worldwide. The disease is caused by bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and can be transmitted from person to person by direct and indirect contact with an affected person's eyes or nose. Currently, trachoma remains a public health problem in 40 countries found mainly among the poorest countries in Africa, the WHO said.
