The UN health agency and the Government of Canada hope to reach some 10 million people in the region over the next five years through a package of measures that includes surgery, antibiotics and improvements in hygiene and environmental conditions. The disease disproportionately affects women in low-income areas and indigenous populations.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that it has launched, in collaboration with the Government of Canada, an initiative to eliminate trachoma, an infectious eye disease and the main cause of blindness among women in low-income and remote areas of Latin America.
Through a contribution of 15 million Canadian dollars (11.2 million US dollars) provided by the Executive, the UN agency will undertake actions in ten Latin American countries in order to strengthen surveillance and expand the treatment of the disease. The goal is to reach about 10 million people in the next five years.
The collaboration was announced this Thursday by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, as part of the country’s efforts to support progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“We thank the Government of Canada for this contribution, which will help prevent visual impairment and blindness caused by trachoma in the Americas,” said the PAHO director.
Jarbas Barbosa added that “this initiative will further advance our goal of eliminating preventable diseases that disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and poor populations in our region, such as trachoma, by 2030.”
Affects the most vulnerable populations
Caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis , trachoma is transmitted both by flies and by direct contact with the eye secretions of infected people. The disease mainly affects those who live in conditions of extreme poverty. Among the factors that favor transmission are overcrowding and poor hygiene and sanitary conditions.
The agency noted that trachoma is endemic in many rural, poor and remote areas of the world, including Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru, where it affects almost 5.6 million people. In Latin America, indigenous populations in the Amazon basin are disproportionately affected.
The collaboration between the UN agency and Canada will focus on at-risk populations in those countries, and accelerate the implementation of the integrated package of interventions for trachoma.
This package includes surgery to prevent visual impairment and possible blindness, antibiotics to reduce infection, facial cleansing to prevent infection, and environmental improvements to decrease transmission.
Experts estimate that women are twice as likely to be affected by this disease and up to four times more likely than men to be blinded by trachoma. This is due to a combination of factors, including traditional gender-based caregiving roles in endemic communities, lack of education, and limited access to basic health services.
Surveillance in six other countries in the region
With the aim of advancing the elimination of the disease in the region, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti and Venezuela will also receive support to strengthen surveillance and determine whether trachoma constitutes a public health problem among populations living in conditions of vulnerability in those countries.
Mexico, which became the first country in Latin America to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem in 2017, will receive support for the implementation of surveillance actions to prevent the reappearance of the disease.
The agency noted that in addition to trachoma, there are other neglected infectious diseases. This is a diverse group of 20 parasitic, bacterial and fungal diseases that have a disproportionate health impact on vulnerable populations, including ethnic minorities. Risk factors include poverty, income inequality, lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation, as well as barriers to education and health services, among others.
