Report of the Fourteenth Meeting of the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma
19–21 April 2010 Geneva, Switzerland
Overview
The Fourteenth Meeting of the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma by the Year 2020 (GET 2020) was held at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland, from 19 to 21 April 2010. The objectives were to undertake the Alliance’s annual review of progress towards elimination at the global level, to exchange information on the SAFE strategy and to examine partnership opportunities.
The meeting was attended by 55participants, including 14national coordinators for trachoma control programmes (Annex 2). Dr Georges Yaya (Central African Republic) was elected Chairman and Mr Simon Bush (Sight Savers International) Vice-Chairman. The meeting should have been the largest in the history of the Alliance. Unfortunately, owing to disruption to air travel caused by a cloud of volcanic ash, participants had difficulty in travelling to Geneva, and many were unable to attend in person. This resulted in some adjustments to the agenda and the arrangement of a teleconference session.
Dr Ala Alwan, Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Noncommunicable diseases and Mental Health, and Dr Hiroki Nakatani, Assistant Director-General of WHO, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, welcomed participants. They drew attention to the significant progress made in reducing the global trachoma burden since the establishment of the Alliance in 1997 thanks to the implementation of the SAFE strategy – eyelid surgery (S), antibiotic treatment (A), facial cleanliness (F) and environmental improvement (E) – but noted that special efforts will be needed to expand and accelerate trachoma control programmes if GET 2020, now only 10 years away, is to be attained. Attention to obstacles to progress will be crucial. It will also be important to take advantage of the opportunities provided by recent changes in global attitudes and responses to the financing of public health initiatives, the development of integrated approaches to the control of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including trachoma, and the rising interest in progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.