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118.3 Million Doses Provisionally Approved for 2015

Trachoma Expert Committee meets at Task Force

Participants of the 10th meeting of the TEC

The Trachoma Expert Committee (TEC) provisionally approved 118.3 million Zithromax� treatments for distribution in 19 countries in 2015. 

 

ITI's TEC is an independent body of internationally recognized experts in the fields of public health, ophthalmology, blindness prevention, and all aspects of the SAFE strategy for trachoma control. 

 

This TEC meeting was informed by the Global Trachoma Mapping Project (GTMP), which provided important updates on the global prevalence of trachoma. In related news, the Community Eye Health Journal published an article by ITI Director Paul Emerson on the global scale-up of trachoma elimination programs. You can read the article here.

 

Read more here.

1.7 Million People Examined for Trachoma
Disease mapping project reaches 19 countries
Recording trachoma data using a smartphone in Ethiopia.  
Photo courtesy of �Dominic Nahr/Magnum/Sightsavers

In less than two years, more than 700 trained field teams have examined 1.7 million people in 19 countries for signs of trachoma as part of the Global Trachoma Mapping Project (GTMP), funded by the UK government.

 

GTMP is the largest infectious disease mapping project ever attempted, and its initial scope of work is nearly done, with 94 percent of the identified districts surveyed nine months ahead of schedule and under budget. The project has mapped 1,162 districts, representing a total population of 137 million people. So far 44 percent of the areas mapped require treatment, representing a population of 53 million people.

 

Read more here.

ITI Performance Metrics




The distribution of Zithromax� donated by Pfizer is scaling up across sub-Saharan Africa as trachoma endemic countries approach disease elimination by 2020. Since 2012, 107 districts have been added to the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) program to receive the antibiotic that treats and prevents trachoma. More districts are expected to be added each year.

 

News Briefs
TAP workshop, NNN meeting, ITI  Staff Transitions

Trachoma expert Paul Courtright recently taught ITI staff and partners how to conduct a Trachoma Action Plan (TAP) workshop in endemic countries. During a TAP, Ministry of Health officials work with stakeholders and NGO partners to identify steps to take toward trachoma elimination. Read more here.

                                                                                                     

 

The Neglected Tropical Disease NGDO Network (NNN) will meet in Paris from Sept. 22-25 to discuss issues related to Neglected Tropical Diseases. Organizers expect 150 participants, including donors, to attend. The International Coalition for Trachoma Control (ICTC) also will meet in Paris during the NNN meeting.

                                                                                           

                                                                                                

Senior Program Associate Anyess Travers has left ITI to pursue other opportunities.  She had worked for ITI for five years, starting as program coordinator. 

                                                                        

 

 Carla Johnson has joined ITI

 as Supply Chain Systems Analyst. Carla will provide technical expertise in supply chain systems, inventory management, and product management.  Carla brings to her position fifteen years of experience in supply chain management at CARE USA and Delta. Read her bio here.

 

September 2014
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An e-newsletter from the International Trachoma Initative (ITI), dedicated to the elimination of blinding trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness.
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