The Road Ahead – Partnering to Expand Access and Eliminate Trachoma

There are 136 million people[i] living in areas where trachoma—the leading infectious cause of blindness—is still prevalent, leaving them at a risk greater than disease itself. Trachoma is a debilitating infectious disease that can lead to constant pain, blindness and financial devastation. Trachoma only exists due to persistent global inequities and eliminating it is critical both to individual health as well as for enabling communities worldwide to thrive.

Decades of progress made through cross-sectoral collaboration among governments, global health partners and researchers has supported the elimination of trachoma in 13 countries to-date, showing that eliminating trachoma as a public health problem worldwide is indeed possible. As nearly a dozen more countries near elimination, we are at a crossroads that comes perhaps once in a lifetime and one we have a responsibility to pursue.

Alongside my Pfizer colleagues Caroline Roan, Darren Back, Julie Jenson, I joined the global health community at The Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases to extend Pfizer’s antibiotic donation commitment through 2030.

Looking ahead, here are three clear reasons I’m more hopeful than ever that we are on the road toward elimination.

1.??????We have the needed tools at hand

To eliminate trachoma in 1993 the World Health Organization adopted the evidence-based SAFE strategy, a public health approach named for its four components: surgery (S) to correct trichiasis—the painful condition caused by repeat trachoma infections that causes eyelashes to turn inward and eventually leads to blindness, antibiotic (A) delivery, activities supporting facial (F) cleanliness, and environmental (E) improvement, such as ensuring the availability of clean water.

Thanks to the Global Trachoma Mapping Project, a collaboration between 53 organizations—including NGOs, governments, and members of academia—the trachoma community has been able to collect more accurate information on how and where trachoma is occurring and where to most effectively dispatch the antibiotics. The project since led to the creation of the Tropical Data initiative, which supports governments in collecting data about all neglected tropical diseases.

Unlike many other diseases for which we are still struggling to find a cure, with trachoma we have the needed tools and approaches at hand. But we must remain committed and continue to provide the resources to execute.

2.??????Powerful progress is underway

Thanks to investments in data collection systems and years of partnership under our belts, today, more than ever, we know the SAFE strategy is effective and antibiotics are reaching those who need them. The global burden of trachoma has been reduced by 91% since 2002 and now a new Lancet analysis shows that in 38 countries in West and South Africa where antibiotic campaigns were conducted, more than half (56%) reached elimination targets between 2015 and 2021.[ii] Now we must work to sustain these gains and reach the hardest-to-access communities. ?

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Through our partnership with the International Trachoma Initiative, Pfizer has donated nearly 1 billion doses of our antibiotic to-date, reaching more than 276 million people suffering from or at risk of trachoma. What’s even better, through the SAFE approach and sustainable impact, we estimate that 2.6 million people no longer require antibiotics for trachoma.[iii]

Photo credit: Pfizer

3.??????Commitment remains strong

The elimination of a disease requires sustained partnership across all sectors. Through programs like the International Trachoma Initiative, Pfizer is standing alongside the global health community to expand equitable healthcare access and strengthen health systems now and far into the future.

Being alongside country leadership and partners at the?Kigali Summit?was an opportunity for us to reconfirm that commitment and a reminder of what is at stake. No one should suffer from a preventable disease that can lead to lifelong disability—particularly when we have the means to stop it.

Achieving global trachoma elimination will provide the opportunity for millions to live healthier lives and be better able to support their families for generations to come. I, for one, am now more committed to this journey than ever.

You can learn more about Pfizer’s trachoma commitment here: Pfizer.com/trachoma

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[i] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/trachoma

[ii] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(22)00050-X/fulltext

[iii] Home | International Trachoma Initiative