Washington DC, February 28, 2025 (PAHO/WHO) – International experts and delegates from nine countries in the Americas participated in a virtual workshop to develop the dossier for the validation of the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem. The event is the first virtual workshop with multi-country participation held for this purpose, and it was designed and promoted by the Fred Hollows Foundation and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The workshop aimed to provide technical support to countries in the process of gathering information and developing the trachoma dossier, which must be submitted and validated by the World Health Organization to receive elimination certification.
The workshop, held on February 25, 26, and 27, included more than 50 participants, including delegates from Ministries of Health, local Health Secretariats, and advisors and consultants from PAHO offices in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, countries that are part of the Trachoma Elimination Initiative in the Americas, an alliance between PAHO and the Government of Canada.
Trachoma experts from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Uganda, representing renowned institutions such as the Fred Hollows Foundation, International Trachoma Initiative, Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology, Sightsavers, and the Trachoma Expert Committee, provided technical advice and shared practical recommendations for structuring the elimination dossiers.
Delegates from each country had the opportunity to share their experiences in plenary and working groups and received personalized feedback on their challenges. This approach helped strengthen national strategies and support efforts to eliminate trachoma in the region.
During the workshop’s closing, Ana Luciañez, regional advisor for Neglected Infectious, Tropical, and Vector-borne Diseases, thanked the experts and other participants for their commitment and Mexico for sharing its experience as the only country in the region that has achieved the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem. She also reaffirmed PAHO’s commitment to supporting countries in the fight against trachoma and other neglected tropical diseases.
