International Trachoma Initiative
Founded in 1998 by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and Pfizer Inc, the International Trachoma Initiative is dedicated to the elimination of blinding trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness.
The ITI works in countries where the World Health Organization has documented widespread disease, and collaborates with national ministries of health and other partners to identify regions where trachoma control will be targeted and then develops a plan for implementing the SAFE strategy, before mobilising people and resources.
Through implementation of the SAFE strategy, ITI ensures that surgical services are available to patients with advanced disease, that antibiotics are distributed, that face washing is widely publicized, and that communities are working to improve access to clean water and sanitation.
The four components of the SAFE strategy include:
- Surgery to correct advanced stages of the disease
- Antibiotics to treat active infection, using Zithromax donated by Pfizer
- Face washing to reduce disease transmission
- Environmental change to increase access to clean water and improved sanitation to eliminate disease altogether
In 2005 the initiative, through its partners:
Performed 252,235 TT surgeries
Administered 44,836,815 antibiotics treatments
For more information - ITI's website, and for more information on SAFE have a look at this article from the World Health Organisation
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