UK to support surveys in countries where 180 million people at
risk of blinding disease The UK government is playing a critical
role in the elimination of the most common infectious cause of
blindness in the world by supporting a global survey to identify
where people are living at risk from trachoma. The blinding
disease affects more than 21 million people1 but it is estimated
that an additional 180 million people worldwide2 live in areas
where trachoma is highly prevalent and are at risk of going
blind. Supported by the UK government, a consortium of the
International Trachoma Initiative, other NGOs and academic
institutions, led by Sightsavers, will carry out the mapping in
more than 30 of the world’s poorest countries in the next three
years. Stephen O’Brien, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
for International Development, said: “Trachoma causes misery and
suffering to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in
the world. Mapping is the critical first step in identifying
those most at risk fro