The proper identification of the cataract blind, and support to overcome barriers to cataract surgery are emphasized. Trachoma, being an infectious disease, is related to living standards and hygiene in a community. Lack of water, crowding and unsanitary surroundings all contribute to the spread and intensity of the disease. The WHO Programme has developed, in collaboration with the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, a series of three manuals for trachoma control, including the simplified assessment of the disease and its complications, to the provision of treatment, including eyelid surgery, and the mobilization of community support for disease control. Although a lot of progress has been made in trachoma control globally, the disease remains a serious public health problem in underserved rural areas.
Present approaches focus on possible new treatment schemes.
This Group of NGDOs provided treatment to some 7.7 million people in 16 countries in 1995. The main strategy for APOC will be to develop sustainable ivermectin distribution programmes, linked to primary health care, in the countries concerned. The NGDO Coordination Group will play a major role in this context, in establishing partnerships with the Ministries of Health, and support the development of national plans eligible for APOC funding. The APOC will become operational during 1996, with its base in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, jointly with the OCP administration. The NGDO Group will continue to function through its liaison and coordination office in the WHO Programme for the Prevention of Blindness and Deafness in Geneva, in support of the new APOC establishment.