International Trachoma Initiative

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The International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) is a non-profit organization committed to the elimination of blinding trachoma, the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness. It was founded in 1998 in response to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) call to eliminate blinding trachoma by 2020 (GET2020). ITI’s founding partners, Pfizer and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, saw the need for an international nongovernmental organization dedicated to the elimination of blinding trachoma, an infectious eye disease. To achieve that goal, ITI collaborates with governmental and nongovernmental agencies at national and international levels to implement the WHO-recommended SAFE strategy for trachoma control (Surgery; Antibiotics—using Pfizer-donated Zithromax®; Facial cleanliness; and Environmental improvement).

ITI is a partner of the Alliance for the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma by 2020 (GET 2020). Building on trachoma elimination success in Morocco, ITI has been engaged in 19 developing countries in Africa and Asia. Trachoma is suspected to be endemic in 57 countries.^[1]

ITI envisions a world free of blinding trachoma. To that end, ITI manages the supply and distribution of the antibiotic Zithromax® donated by Pfizer. Zithromax® treats and prevents trachoma. ITI also helps countries and partners develop supply chain capacity where needed.

To date, Pfizer has donated more than 225 million Zithromax® treatments through ITI, reaching millions of people. ITI plans to be active in more than 42 countries by 2015.

Global Strategic Plan 2020 INSight: The end in sight

ITI is part of a coalition of international partners called the International Coalition for Trachoma Control (ICTC). The ICTC's 2020 INSight global strategic plan lays out the current trachoma situation, and what needs to be done to achieve elimination of blinding trachoma by 2020.

What is Trachoma?

Trachoma is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, which spreads through contact with an infected person. Untreated, repeated trachoma infections make the eyelashes turn inward, scratching the cornea. This causes excruciating pain. Although children are the most susceptible to infection, the effects are often not felt until adulthood. Women, traditionally the caretakers of the home, are twice as likely as men to have the advanced stage of the disease, called trichiasis.

Without intervention, trachoma keeps families shackled in a cycle of poverty, as the disease and its long-term effects are passed from one generation to the next.

Trachoma was once endemic in Europe and the United States. European immigrants to America had their eyelids flipped and examined upon arrival at Ellis Island in New York. Those diagnosed with active trachoma were returned to their home countries. Trachoma disappeared in Europe, even before antibiotics, because of improved living standards.

Today, about 41 million people, mostly women and children, have active trachoma infection. An estimated 8.2 million people have an advanced stage of the disease, in which the eyelashes turn inward and scrape the cornea, a condition called trichiasis. These people face the risk of visual impairment or blindness unless treated with a simple surgical procedure.

ITI’s Three Key Roles

ITI approaches its mission through three key roles:

1. Manage the supply and distribution of Zithromax® donated by Pfizer

2. Advocate at the global, regional, and country levels for the elimination of blinding trachoma

3. Collect data and manage knowledge on trachoma

Mass administration of Zithromax® is a component of the SAFE strategy, endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The SAFE strategy includes:

• Surgery to correct advanced stages of the disease;

• Antibiotics to treat active infection, including Zithromax® donated by Pfizer;

• Facial cleanliness to reduce disease transmission;

• Environmental change to increase access to clean water and improved sanitation.

ITI is a Program of the Task Force for Global Health

In April 2009, ITI joined forces with the Task Force for Global Health to leverage resources and significantly increase efforts to eliminate blinding trachoma. The Task Force and ITI are based in Decatur, Georgia, USA. ITI also has an office in Ethiopia.

The Task Force for Global Health is a not-for-profit, public health organization with a 27-year history of improving the lives of millions of people around the world. Working with a broad network of public and private sector partners, the Task Force for Global Health manages an array of initiatives focused on neglected tropical diseases, immunization and vaccines, and health systems strengthening.

How ITI Works

ITI accomplishes its work by:

· Collaborating with national Ministries of Health, partner organizations, governmental and nongovernmental agencies to support implementation of the “A” - antibiotics - component of SAFE. ITI manages the distribution of Pfizer-donated Zithromax® and ensures it gets where it needs to be on time.

· Promoting “Surgery” for trichiasis, the advanced stage of trachoma, which causes blindness, “Facial cleanliness” and “Environmental improvement” for a comprehensive, sustainable approach.

· Providing technical assistance to countries and partner organizations, including logistical assistance, trachoma control research, and monitoring and evaluation of trachoma control programs.

· Mobilizing resources for trachoma control programs.

· Integrating trachoma control into approaches to eliminate and control other neglected tropical diseases.

· Advocating for trachoma to be included in wider health and development agendas, including those that target improved access to clean water, sanitation, and education, and seek to improve the lives of women and children.

[edit] References

^ “Trachoma: global magnitude of a preventable cause of blindness,” Silvio Paolo Mariotti, Donatella Pascolini and Jennifer Rose-Nussbaumer, British Journal of Ophthalmology, 30 December 2008.