First Ten Years: 1998-2008

Since 1998, ITI has evolved from an innovative public/private partnership to one with an important leadership role in catalyzing partnerships for trachoma control at the local, national and global levels. 

In 2005, ITI developed a Strategic Plan to guide its efforts for 2006-2010. A key goal of that plan was to explore a new operating model to maximize trachoma control efforts and meet the goal of the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma by 2020 (GET 2020).

Scaling Up Through Merger

On April 1, 2009, ITI joined forces with the Task Force for Global Health to leverage resources and significantly scale up efforts to eliminate blinding trachoma.

As part of the merger process, the Task Force and ITI invited a small group of experts to meet and identify options for ITI and its role in scaling up trachoma control.  In addition, a focus group was held with national coordinators and representatives from several countries where ITI is working to better understand the needs from the countries and the way forward for ITI.

New Strategic Framework

Input from the experts and the focus group was then presented to a larger group of ITI stakeholders for consideration at a meeting on March 9-10, 2009.  The collective experience and insights of these key partners helped articulate a scale-up phase for trachoma elimination programs and shape a new strategic framework for ITI.

The results of this collaborative planning process are captured in the Strategic Program Plan and Review for the International Trachoma Initiative, which guides the future direction for the organization in its fight against blinding trachoma.