In a first, people requiring interventions against trachoma fall below 100 million

• The number of people requiring interventions against trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, has fallen below 100 million for the first time since global records began. 

• There were 1.5 billion people estimated to be at risk in 2002, dropping to 97.1 million as of November 2025: a 94 per cent reduction (as recently as 2011, 314 million people were estimated to be at risk and to require interventions).

Key facts about Trachoma:

• Trachoma is a bacterial infection that affects the eyes. 

• It is a neglected tropical disease.

• It is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia Trachomatis. 

• Trachoma is contagious, spreading through contact with the eyes, eyelids, nose or throat secretions of infected people, if left untreated it causes irreversible blindness.

• Environmental risk factors for trachoma transmission include poor hygiene, overcrowded households, and inadequate access to water, and sanitation facilities.

• Repeated infections in childhood lead to scarring of the inner side of the upper eyelids, resulting in inward turning of the eyelid margin, with the eyelashes touching the eyeball. This is a painful condition known as trachomatous trichiasis.

• It is a public health problem in 30 countries and is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people.

Efforts to eliminate trachoma

• This milestone reflects decades of sustained efforts by national health ministries, local communities, and international partners implementing the World Health Organisation (WHO)-endorsed SAFE strategy (Surgery to treat trachomatous trichiasis, the blinding stage of trachoma; Antibiotics to clear infection; and Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement to reduce transmission and sustain progress).

• Following the recent validation of Egypt and Fiji as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, the total number of countries validated by WHO now stands at 27 — including at least one country in every trachoma-endemic WHO region.

• India has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem.

• Global progress for trachoma has been supported by a diverse range of stakeholders, including implementing non-governmental organisations, academic institutions and donors, many of which collaborate through the International Coalition for Trachoma Control (ICTC), as well as the donation of more than 1.1 billion doses of azithromycin by Pfizer Inc through the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI). 

• These partnerships have enabled health ministries to distribute valuable donated medicines efficiently and effectively, while strengthening community health systems.

• Major initiatives such as the Global Trachoma Mapping Project (GTMP) and Tropical Data have also been instrumental to the global reduction in prevalence.

• Efforts to eliminate trachoma are aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 3.3, which calls for an end to the epidemic of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), as well as the NTD road map 2021−2030, which targets global elimination of trachoma by 2030.