The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified El Salvador as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide.
I congratulate El Salvador on this great achievement. This is a testament to the power of political engagement, strategic investment, and community engagement. El Salvador’s success is an important step towards our global goal of eliminating trachoma worldwide by 2030 and a clear signal that a healthier and more just future is within reach. ”
Dr. AS WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
This verification follows a rigorous, multi-year process to determine whether trachoma exists as a public health problem in the country and to document the health system’s ability to detect, investigate, and respond to potential future cases.
El Salvador conducted a targeted assessment of communities prioritized based on environmental and social risk factors from 2023 to 2026. These evaluations found no evidence of active transmission of trachoma. No signs of the disease were detected in children, and no advanced cases that can cause blindness were found in adults.
These findings confirm that trachoma does not constitute a public health problem in this country.
“This validation reflects El Salvador’s commitment to reach the most vulnerable and generate solid evidence that trachoma is not endemic in the country,” said Dr. Jarvas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). “This is the result of our continued efforts to reach out to the community, identify potential cases, and ensure no one is left behind.”
El Salvador’s progress has been supported by a multisectoral approach, including strengthening primary health care services, improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), eye health services, including adult vision screening, and collaboration between government departments, local communities, and international partners.
The country has also established systems within its health system to sustain this progress, including trained health workers, integrated surveillance mechanisms, and the ability to detect and manage cases of trichiasis (an advanced stage of trachoma in which the eyelashes turn inward and can lead to blindness).
“As a result of continued national efforts supported by the Pan American Health Organization and the Embassy of Canada, El Salvador has reached a major health milestone by achieving certification as a trachoma-free country,” said Francisco Alabi, El Salvador’s Minister of Health. “We are proud of the accomplishments we have achieved in just three years, positioning the country in the region and improving the visual health of our people.”
PAHO worked with the Government of Canada to support the country’s efforts through the Trachoma Eradication Initiative in the Americas. The process of exclusion also created an opportunity to provide integrated health services to the communities reached during the evaluation.
trachoma, caused by bacteria chlamydia trachomatis, It is spread by contact with the eyes or nasal secretions of an infected person. Repeated infections can cause scarring on the inside of the eyelids, causing the eyelashes to curl inward (trichosis) and eventually lead to blindness.
The disease is strongly associated with poverty and inequalities in access to basic services such as WASH and health care, and remains endemic in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.
In the Americas, trachoma remains a public health problem in rural and remote areas of Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and Peru. Regional efforts to investigate and more precisely define the epidemiological status of trachoma are also being expanded in countries where trachoma is suspected, including the Transnational State of Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. El Salvador was included among these countries pending the completion of an assessment that would provide the evidence needed for WHO verification.
WHO recommends that countries that have achieved elimination maintain surveillance systems to prevent disease recurrence and ensure continued access to quality eye health services.
Trachoma is one of more than 30 infectious and related diseases targeted by PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative, which aims to eliminate it from the Americas by 2030.
Neglected tropical diseases such as trachoma have devastating health, social and economic impacts. Their burden is mainly experienced by poor communities in the tropics.
Public health goals for the control, elimination and eradication of these conditions were defined in the Roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030.
In 1996, WHO launched the WHO Alliance to Eliminate Trachoma Globally by 2020 (GET2020), creating a network of governments, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions dedicated to the fight against trachoma. WHO continues to support endemic countries to accelerate progress towards the global goal of eliminating trachoma as a public health problem worldwide by 2030.
Trachoma eradication as a public health problem is defined as: (i) The prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) “unknown to the health care system” in people aged 15 years and older is less than 0.2%. (ii) the prevalence of follicular trachomatous inflammation (TF) in children aged 1 to 9 years in each previously endemic region is less than 5%; and (iii) the existence of a system for identifying and managing TT incident cases.
Other countries recognized by WHO as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem include Algeria, Australia, Benin, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, India, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
El Salvador is the first country in Central America and the second country in the Americas to achieve this milestone. With this validation, El Salvador joins a group of 64 countries worldwide recognized by WHO to eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease. Seven of these countries are in the Americas.
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