Date started: September 2024

Date of completion:  August 2026

Funder: Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)

Aim: Investigate why the prevalence of trachoma remains above elimination threshold in Ethiopia despite several years of implementation of the WHO-recommended control strategy and identify novel, context-specific and effective interventions to facilitate elimination.

Background

The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a goal to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem by 2030. However, despite decades of recommended interventions, persistent trachoma continues to hinder progress. To understand the factors contributing to this persistently high prevalence, this study is tracking a cohort of children aged 1-9 monthly for one year following a community-wide mass drug administration (MDA) in a district with persistently hyperendemic trachoma. The study's findings are expected to inform the development and testing of novel trachoma elimination strategies, accelerating global efforts to eliminate the disease.

Methods and Progress

A longitudinal study in which fifty-two sub villages were randomly selected in Argoba district, one of the trachoma hyperendemic district in Amhara region. A total of 2,086 children have been enrolled into the study, and 14 monthly follow-ups have been completed. Active trachoma clinical signs were graded, conjunctival swabs and dried blood spots (DBS) samples were collected to determine Chlamydia trachomatis infection incidence and transmission through PCR (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT)) and serology.