WHO: Viet Nam eliminates trachoma as a public health problem
(VOVWORLD) - In a significant health milestone, Vietmam has successfully eliminated trachoma. This remarkable achievement was validated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and a plaque was presented to the Vietnamese Vice Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong during the seventy-fifth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, which opened on Monday in Manila.
 Deputy Minister of Health of Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong (2nd from left) receives a certificate and a plaque honouring Vietnam's elimination of trachoma. (Photo: nhandan.vn) |
Over the past 70 years, Viet Nam has worked tirelessly to combat trachoma, treating hundreds of thousands of people and implementing rigorous control measures. Past surveys indicated that trachoma was a public health problem in four provinces in Viet Nam.
Thirty years ago, 1.7% of people living in these high-risk provinces required surgery to prevent blindness from trachoma. However, by 2023 the proportion of adults with the blinding form of the disease had fallen below 0.2%, which is the threshold required for WHO validation of elimination of trachoma as a public health problem. Continuous monitoring and the focused implementation of the SAFE strategy in the country, starting in 1999, have been instrumental in this decline. SAFE stands for surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness and environmental improvement.
Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness globally. It is a preventable disease of the eye caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. Trachoma is spread by flies and people can also become infected through direct contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person.