After over 3,000 years of battling the disease, Egypt has successfully eliminated trachoma — bringing the total to 27 countries that have now eliminated the disease as a public health problem.
Trachoma is one of the world’s oldest known diseases and one of 21 neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs — a group of preventable and treatable conditions impacting the world’s lowest-income and most remote populations. Today, it is the world’s leading infectious cause of avoidable blindness, affecting nearly 103 million people globally.
While someone with a healthy immune system can fight off single infections — often manifesting as mild itchiness — repeated episodes of trachoma infection can lead to symptoms such as scarred eyelids and eyelashes turning in on themselves, causing severe pain, irreversible visual impairments, and eventually blindness.
A centuries-old struggle
Egypt’s fight against trachoma dates back over 3,000 years, with the Ebers Papyrus — an Egyptian medical papyrus of herbal knowledge dating back to 1500 B.C. — showing evidence of Egyptian medics prescribing myrrh and lizard and bat blood to cure advanced forms of the eye disease.
In more modern history, trachoma was officially recognized as a public health problem in Egypt in 1998 following a national survey that confirmed trachoma was widespread among children.
Fast forward to 2025, and thanks to dedicated partnerships between the World Health Organization and Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population, with technical and financial support from organizations such as Sightsavers, CBM, and the International Trachoma Initiative, millions of Egyptians are no longer at risk of losing their eyesight for this reason.
The milestone comes after decades of coordinated control and surveillance efforts. In 2001, the government piloted the WHO-endorsed SAFE strategy, which outlines steps to prevent and control the disease, including surgery for the blinding stage, antibiotics donated by partners to clear infections, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvements.
Further efforts included mass drug administration campaigns, nationwide mapping and surveillance, training of ophthalmologists, expanded health education in schools, and integrating trachoma into Egypt’s national eye health curriculum.
“Egypt’s elimination of trachoma as a public health problem underscores the nation’s sustained commitment to equitable health care delivery and the transformative impact of initiatives such as Haya Karima, which have expanded access to safe water, sanitation, and primary care services in rural communities,” said professor Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, deputy prime minister and minister of Health and Population. “This achievement is a collective triumph for Egypt’s health workers, communities, and partners who collaborated to eradicate this ancient disease.”
Leading by example
Trachoma isn’t the only disease Egypt has overcome, having eliminated malaria in 2024 and lymphatic filariasis — another NTD, which causes severe damage to the lymphatic system — in 2018. But this latest milestone marks wider progress in the region and the NTD community.
Seven countries in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region have now been verified as eliminating trachoma, while 27 countries around the world — including Ghana, Pakistan, Burundi, and Senegal — have successfully beaten the disease, making trachoma elimination “one of the great global health success stories of this century,” according to Simon Bush, director of Neglected Tropical Diseases at Sightsavers, a charity which has supported eight countries, including Egypt, to eliminate the disease. “At a time when much recent progress in global health is under threat, let’s celebrate this phenomenal achievement,” Bush added.
While 30 countries are still considered endemic for trachoma, Egypt’s achievement offers hope to the millions still at risk in the region and around the world. The country’s achievement demonstrates the “effectiveness of sustained national leadership, strong surveillance, and community engagement in ending a disease that has afflicted humanity since antiquity,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. With another elimination under its belt and the end of the decade inching closer, it’s an inspiring example for the global NTD community, which has its sights firmly set on achieving the 2030 NTD road map targets.
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