| Kingdom of Morocco |
STATUS of National Trachoma Control Program: Reached Goals for Elimination of Blinding Trachoma
Morocco’s Success Story and Hope for the Future
The public health success of the Moroccan trachoma control program offers promise that the global elimination of blinding trachoma is indeed within sight.
“In 2006 we celebrated the Kingdom of Morocco’s success in reaching the public health markers necessary to eliminate blindness from a nation’s people. We learned that concerted and scaled efforts coordinated by the government, with both public and private sector support, made that possible. Replicating that success is our mandate and challenge.” -Robert L. Mallet, Chairman of the Board, ITI
SAFE = Success
Morocco is the first country in the world to reach its trachoma elimination objectives through implementation of the SAFE strategy (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement).
Achievement
- In 2005, Morocco successfully achieved its Ultimate Intervention Goals (UIGs) for the elimination of blinding trachoma.
- Beginning in 2006, the Ministry of Health developed and began the implementation of an epidemiological surveillance system to sustain and monitor the gains made by the national trachoma control program.
- Today, Morocco awaits certification from the World Health Organization indicating that trachoma is no longer a public health threat there.
Further Reading & Resources
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Morocco has a long history of widespread trachoma infections with prevalence rates in the southeast provinces reaching as high as 46% less than 20 years ago.
In 1953, UNICEF sent the prominent American photojournalist Esther Bubley to Morocco to photograph aspects of a UNICEF-sponsored trachoma control project. This image of Moroccan peasants waiting for trachoma treatment won Photography Magazine’s first prize in its International category. Ms. Bubley was the first woman to win this award. |
