Trachoma is the commonest infectious cause of blindness.  It is a disease of poverty.  It affects communities that have poor water supplies and sanitation. The organism is transmitted from person to person through direct and indirect contact (e.g. towels and handkerchiefs) and by flies. After years of repeated infection, the inside of the eyelid may be so severely scarred that the inside of the eyelid turns inward.  When this happens, the eye lashes rub on the eyeball, scarring the cornea (the front of the eye).  If untreated, this leads to irreversible corneal damage and blindness.

Blindness caused by Trachoma can be prevented by the SAFE strategy which we adopt:

S - Surgery to correct inturning of the uppeIf untrr lid (trichiasis)

A - Antibiotics

F - Facial cleanliness

E - Environmental change - which we advocate alongside the government