More than 20,000 people in Burkina Faso are to be screened for advanced trachoma, in the first surveys since NTD programmes were put on hold because of COVID-19.
The surveys are part of the Tropical Data initiative, which supports health ministries to carry out surveys for advanced trachoma, known as trichiasis. The surveys help to pinpoint where to run trachoma elimination programmes, and where programmes are no longer needed.
The results from Burkina Faso could show whether work towards eliminating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has been set back because of the pandemic, and will help to highlight what further action may be needed.
When COVID-19 emerged in Africa in April 2020, guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) encouraged NTD elimination programmes to put any community-based activities, including surveys, on hold. But Burkina Faso worked hard with its partners on a risk assessment and mitigation action tool, known as RAMA, to ensure they reduced the risk of spreading the virus, enabling surveys to restart.
Before survey work could resume, community health workers were trained in COVID-19 prevention measures and were given additional equipment including masks, visors and a temperature monitoring tool called a thermoflash. A Tropical Data surveying kit also traditionally provides sanitising hand gel for use between examinations.
Tropical Data chief scientist Dr Emma Harding-Esch said the surveys could be more important now than ever. “They are a key step in evaluating progress in the journey to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem,” she said. “They can help determine the impact that interruptions in NTD interventions has had and inform what to do to limit this.”
The work in Burkina Faso, which is funded by the Accelerate programme, will pave the way for other countries to restart their surveys.
Tropical Data, which follows on from the Global Trachoma Mapping Project (GTMP), supports health ministries to conduct globally standardised, high-quality prevalence surveys. The consortium includes the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI), the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, RTI International and Sightsavers.
The Tropical Data initiative
This large-scale project uses smartphones to gather data about trachoma as part of the global fight to eliminate the disease.
About Tropical DataRead all our latest news stories
News from Sightsavers
Senegal launches action plan to collect high-quality inclusive data
The initiative outlines the steps needed to ensure that people with disabilities are represented in official data, which will inform the government’s planning and monitoring.
In 2022, thanks to you…
It’s been another amazing year where we’ve been able to protect sight, fight disease and empower people with disabilities. Here, we share our highlights, all made possible by you.
Sightsavers awarded grant to fight neglected tropical diseases in Guinea-Bissau
The Astellas Global Health Foundation is giving US$536,700 to help combat river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis and intestinal worms.
