India has been awarded the Certificate of Elimination of Trachoma as a Public Health Problem by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva. This recognition is a testament to India’s sustained efforts in disease elimination, preventive healthcare, and commitment to ensuring health for all.
On October 8th last year, the WHO declared that the Government of India had eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem. India also became the third country in the Southeast Asia region to reach this public health milestone. The government has taken various steps under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI) to eliminate Trachoma.
Since 2019, the National Programme has developed a continuous surveillance setup for trachoma cases by collecting case reports from all the districts in the country via sa pecific WHO shared format. The National Trachomatous Trichiasis survey was done in 200 endemic districts of the country during 2021-24, which was a mandate set by WHO.
