Why in the News?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that India has successfully eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem.
- This makes India the third country in the Southeast Asia Region to achieve this milestone.

WHO has classified Trachoma as a neglected tropical disease (NTD).
WHO estimates that around 150 million people worldwide are affected by Trachoma, and 6 million of them are either blind or at risk of severe visual problems.
Trachoma is commonly found in underprivileged communities living in poor conditions.

What is Trachoma?

Trachoma is a bacterial infection that affects the eyes.
It is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia Trachomatis.
It is contagious, spreading through contact with the eyes, eyelids, or secretions from the nose or throat of an infected person.
If untreated, Trachoma can lead to irreversible blindness.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Trachoma was one of the leading causes of blindness in India.
To tackle this, India launched the National Trachoma Control Program in 1963.
Later, these efforts were integrated into India’s National Program for Control of Blindness (NPCB).
- In 1971, the rate of blindness due to trachoma was 5% in the country.
- Due to various interventions under the National Programme for Control of Blindness & Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), the rate has now dropped to less than 1%.

India implemented the WHO SAFE strategy across the country. This strategy includes:

Although by 2017, India was declared free from infective Trachoma, it continued surveillance of Trachoma cases from 2019 to 2024.

[2018] Appropriate local community-level healthcare intervention is a prerequisite to achieve ‘Health for All’ in India. Explain.