Egypt Officially Declared Trachoma-Free by the World Health Organization

Seventh in the country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to get Trachoma-free as Egypt is declared free of Trachoma by the World Health Organization as authorities are succeeded to eliminate the public health problem. 

The director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is awarding the certification to Amr Kandil, who is the deputy health minister in Geneva, Switzerland, during the 79th World Health Assembly. With this recent certification, Egypt is now trachoma-free, an infectious eye disease that leads to preventable blindness worldwide. In a live broadcast, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also said about Egypt’s evolution and growth, as last year the country was certified malaria-free. The official officer Khaled Abdel Ghaffar also confirms that trachoma is no longer a public health concern in Egypt. 

Also, he adds that continuous efforts will be made and surveillance programs will be implemented to ensure the maintenance of the improved status of the country in the health sector. According to Deputy Health Minister Amr Kandil, neglected tropical diseases are usually linked to poor sanitation and limited access to clean water and proper sewage systems. He said the Hayah Karima initiative has helped us in improving living conditions in rural communities, which has now also reduced the spread of these diseases and promotes a safe living for individuals. 

With the recent announcement, it also shed light on the history of trachoma in Egypt that has existed in Egypt for thousands of years, dating back to the evidence found that it existed in ancient Egypt as well due to poor sanitation, crowded living conditions, and limited clean water access. 

Then in the early 1900s, the British ophthalmologist Arthur MacCallan played a major role by offering ways to fight the disease like trachoma. He introduced the advanced eye care programs to help treat individuals’ eye conditions. Special mobile eye hospitals were introduced to make treatment accessible to people living in the rural areas so they can also fight the disease. 

The eye expert Arthur MacCallan’s work helped lay the foundation for modern eye healthcare systems in Egypt. His efforts were highly respected and considered one of the earliest large-scale public health campaigns against blindness and eye disease in the region.   

Conclusion 

This is an achievement for Egypt, as local people were not free of eye diseases; it reflects the regional development of the country. Egypt is not just focusing on travel, but every sector is focusing on growth and welfare by introducing the right policies. We’re a Nile cruise provider in Egypt, so through our news section, we try to provide daily updates about Egypt that international travelers must know. So, if you need any assistance for a Nile cruise booking, you can call our travel experts or message us. 

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