The leading cause of blindness around the globe, trachoma, will be among the conditions highlighted in a webinar to mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) day, 30 January.
World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will outline the need to increase awareness of NTDs and invest in ending inequality and poor health outcomes.
NTDs are a group of 20 conditions that can kill or leave people disfigured or debilitated. Yet there is good news – so far, 47 countries have eliminated an NTD, showing progress is possible, say webinar organisers Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases.
People affected by the illnesses, country representatives and civil society groups will discuss:
COVID-19 has caused severe delays and disruption to NTD programmes, as well as a massive diversion of resources, says Uniting to Combat. Trachoma is a public health problem in 42 countries, leaving 1.9m people blind or visually impaired. More than 125 million people live in areas where trachoma is endemic and are at risk of blindness. It is a bacterial infection, transmitted by direct or indirect transfer of eye and nose discharges from infected people, particularly young children.
NTDs include leprosy; rabies; scabies and other ectoparasites.
Register here
2pm to 3.15pm CET (1pm to 2.15pm GMT) 30 January
Topic: Optical Education
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