Nigeria has moved closer to eliminating trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, with only 11 local government areas (LGAs) yet to reach elimination status, according to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
Speaking at the Accelerate Trachoma Elimination Programme Learning Event organised by SightSavers Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday, the ministry said the country had achieved more than 85 per cent progress towards eliminating the disease as a public health problem.
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Nicholas Olobio, director and programme manager of the National Trachoma Programme, said Nigeria had stopped Mass Drug Administration (MDA) in 116 of its 134 previously endemic LGAs after meeting the World Health Organisation (WHO) elimination threshold.
He said the achievement represents about 87 per cent progress in eliminating trachoma in affected areas.
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Mr Olobio added that Nigeria had also carried out more than 100,000 trachoma trichiasis (TT) surgeries, exceeding an estimated target of 150,000, bringing the country close to its surgical target for preventing blindness caused by the disease.
He said the ministry had intensified surveillance in areas with persistent transmission to prevent a resurgence of the disease.
He also explained that beyond routine impact surveys, health officials now collect conjunctival swab samples to determine whether active infections still exist in communities where transmission persists.
He noted that improved environmental sanitation had helped eliminate trachoma in other parts of the world and remained central to Nigeria’s elimination strategy.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, is caused by an obligate intracellular bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the infection is transmitted by direct or indirect transfer of eye and nose discharges from infected people, particularly young children, and can also be spread by certain fly species.
Insecurity slows final push
Chairman of the National Trachoma Task Force, Adamu Mohammed, noted the task force’s role in developing national guidelines for trachoma elimination and ensuring their implementation in line with internationally accepted standards and protocols.
Mr Mohammed, also a consultant ophthalmologist, explained that the task force works with key stakeholders to monitor trachoma surgeries, MDA and surveillance activities aimed at achieving nationwide elimination.
He said insecurity remains the biggest barrier to achieving nationwide elimination.
According to him, seven of the remaining 11 endemic LGAs are located in Borno State, where security challenges continue to restrict access for health workers.
“Most of the LGAs yet to achieve elimination are difficult to access because of insecurity,” he said.
“Our partners have done tremendously well, but insecurity continues to limit access to affected communities. There is only so much partners can do without adequate security.”
He urged the government to strengthen security and improve access to hard-to-reach communities to enable health workers to deliver medicines, surgeries and other essential interventions.
Also, Teyil Wamyil-Mshelia, country Trachoma coordinator, SightSavers Nigeria, said the organisation’s Accelerate Trachoma Elimination Programme had significantly accelerated Nigeria’s progress since its launch in 2018.
Ms Wamyil-Mshelia said using the WHO SAFE strategy, the organisation had performed over 60,000 TT surgeries across 195 LGAs and distributed almost 29 million doses of azithromycin in endemic communities.
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She added that the programme had conducted 174 trachoma surveys, trained no fewer than 50,000 community case finders and strengthened digital tracking, hygiene promotion and behaviour change interventions.
She explained that this has helped to sustain Nigeria’s progress towards eliminating trachoma as a public health problem.
The event brought together government officials, development partners, trachoma experts, and other stakeholders to showcase achievements, share lessons learnt, and reaffirm the commitment to eliminating trachoma in Nigeria.
(NAN)
