Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday officially declared India free of trachoma — a leading infectious cause of blindness — at the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA-78) held in Geneva.

The WHO recognised India’s decade-long efforts to eliminate the disease and presented a certificate confirming that trachoma is no longer a public health problem in the country.

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The declaration marks a major public health victory for India, which once accounted for millions of cases.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda appreciated India’s achievement, calling it a proud moment for the nation. In a post on X, he reasserted our country’s commitment to public health initiatives to ensure disease elimination: “India remains firmly committed to disease elimination and ensuring health for all through sustained, people-centric health reforms.”

Trachoma is a bacterial eye infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and can lead to permanent vision loss if left untreated. It spreads through direct contact with eye or nose discharge from an infected person — often via contaminated fingers, clothing, or flies. Poor hygiene, overcrowded living conditions, and limited access to clean water and sanitation are key factors that fuel its transmission.

To address these root causes, the Indian government implemented WHO’s SAFE strategy — Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, and Environmental improvement — a comprehensive public health approach aimed at breaking the cycle of infection, according to WHO reports.

“The implementation of the WHO-recommended SAFE strategy that includes conducting surgeries and drug administration by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Government of India’s initiatives like Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Jeevan Mission has led to this achievement,” said Dr Roderico H. Ofrin, WHO Representative to India in an earlier press statement.

India has become the 22nd country to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem, joining nations like Nepal, Pakistan, and Myanmar. The achievement comes after more than six decades of sustained efforts by the Union Health Ministry, supported by the WHO and UNICEF, since the launch of the National Trachoma Control Project in 1963.

These medical and public health efforts were coupled with awareness campaigns to encourage behavioural changes. In 1976, the initiative was merged with the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), expanding community-based interventions to rural and hard-to-reach areas.

Experts said this does not mean that the disease has been eradicated, but rather it has been reduced significantly. India conducted multiple surveys to monitor the prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis, a complication caused by repeated infections in childhood. The last survey was conducted in 200 endemic districts between 2021 and 2024 as part of WHO’s mandate, after which India received an official status of being declared a trachoma-free nation.