Viet Nam Eliminates Trachoma as a Public Health Problem
The Act to End NTDs | East program is proud to join Viet Nam, the World Health Organization (WHO), and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in celebrating Viet Nam’s achievement of eliminating trachoma as a public health problem.
WHO made the formal announcement on October 21st at the opening of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, in Manila, Philippines. With this announcement, Viet Nam becomes the 21st country globally to eliminate trachoma. Today, 8.3 million people in Viet Nam are no longer at risk of contracting this painful eye infection.
Trachoma control was first initiated in Viet Nam in the 1950s; at that time, the prevalence of active trachoma in some communes was as high as 50-90%. The government established a national trachoma program to accelerate progress toward elimination in 1999.
USAID’s Act to End NTDs | East program, through RTI and partner Fred Hollows Foundation, has supported the government to conduct surveys to monitor prevalence of the disease and ensure care has been provided to those impacted by the disease. These efforts and additional technical assistance have supported the Government of Viet Nam to formally document their successes to WHO for validation of elimination of trachoma as a public health problem.
Viet Nam’s achievement marks an important public health milestone in the global effort to eliminate NTDs.
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