The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken various steps under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI) to eliminate trachoma over the years.
India has become the third country in the Southeast Asia Region to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem.
On October 8, 2024 the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that India has eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem.
What is Trachoma?
Trachoma is a disease affecting the eyes caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It remains a public health problem in 42 countries and is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people.
The blindness from trachoma is irreversible.
Symptoms of the disease:
Mild itching
Eyes irritation
Eye discharge
Redness in the eyes
Blurred vision
Pain in the eyes
Access to clean water and improved sanitation is the key to prevention.
Recently, the Ministry of Health has detailed the steps taken to eliminate the disease:
1. Since 2019, the NPCBVI has developed continuous surveillance for identifying trachoma cases by collecting case reports from all districts in the country.
2. The National Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT only) survey was done in 200 endemic districts of the country under NPCBVI during 2021-24.
3. The country has implemented the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) which is a comprehensive framework established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare aimed at ensuring and enhancing the quality of healthcare services provided at public health facilities.
As a result, the prevalence of trachoma cases was found to be much lesser than the WHO elimination criteria.
