Why in news?
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Fiji has become the 26th country to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem. The milestone highlights the Pacific nation’s success in combating a preventable cause of blindness through sustained public health efforts.
Background
Trachoma is an infectious eye disease caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It spreads via contact with eye or nose secretions of infected individuals and by flies that land on unclean faces. Repeated infections scar the inner eyelid, causing eyelashes to turn inward and scratch the cornea—a condition called trichiasis—which can lead to irreversible blindness if untreated.
Early symptoms include red, irritated eyes, swollen eyelids, blurred vision and watery discharge. Trachoma disproportionately affects communities without access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare. Women and children are most at risk. The disease is part of WHO’s group of neglected tropical diseases.
WHO’s SAFE strategy
- Surgery: Restores sight by correcting trichiasis and preventing further damage to the cornea.
- Antibiotics: Mass drug administration of azithromycin, combined with tetracycline eye ointment, clears active infections in the community.
- Facial cleanliness: Promotes regular washing of faces, especially among children, to reduce transmission.
- Environmental improvement: Ensures access to clean water, proper sanitation and waste management to limit breeding grounds for flies.
Fiji’s achievement
Over the past two decades, Fiji’s Ministry of Health collaborated with WHO, local communities and international partners to implement the SAFE strategy. Comprehensive surveys monitored disease prevalence, while campaigns integrated trachoma control with other health and sanitation programmes. By 2025 the prevalence of active trachoma in children aged 1–9 years had fallen below 5%, and cases of trichiasis were under the threshold of one per 1,000 population—the criteria for elimination as a public health problem.
Fiji joins countries such as Cambodia, Ghana and Iran in achieving this milestone. Despite the progress, WHO estimates that about 150 million people globally remain at risk. Continued investment in water, hygiene and health services is essential to eradicate trachoma worldwide.
Source: WHO – Trachoma Fact Sheet · WHO News – Fiji Eliminates Trachoma
