Sightsavers started working in Egypt in 2019, supporting the first mass drug administration for trachoma in the country.
Treatment for trachoma was distributed in Matay, in the Menia region of northern Egypt, were nearly 10 per cent of children aged one to nine had symptoms of the disease. A team of 468 health workers gave out more than 285,000 treatments to people aged six months and above.
To tackle the disease, previous community programmes have raised awareness and understanding of trachoma and how to prevent it. More campaigns are now being planned in other districts in Egypt.
Nearly 300,000 people were given medication in Egypt during the first mass trachoma campaign in 2019, with the aim of protecting people from this painful and potentially blinding disease.
Read the news storySince 2012, Sightsavers has been using smartphones to collect high-quality data, so that countries can effectively map the disease and focus their elimination efforts.
Schools in Kenya, Ethiopia and Guinea are using educational board games to teach children about the importance of good hygiene to help eliminate trachoma.
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Biruck Kebede, who leads Sightsavers’ NTD work in Ethiopia, explains how data can help to eliminate diseases such as trachoma.
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Geordie Woods explains how the Super School of Five trachoma prevention programme is protecting school children from this devastating disease.