ITI In The News

International Trachoma Initiative Appoints New Country Representative for Tanzania

(Modern Ghana, December 15, 2008)

The International Trachoma Initiative, the world's only non-governmental organization dedicated solely to the elimination of blinding trachoma, has named Dr. Bernadetha Robert Shilio as the new ITI Country Representative for Tanzania.

   --- Story picked up by Africa Science News Service.

Eliminating Blindness Due to Trachoma by 2020

(Global Health Progress - GHP Blog, October 8, 2008)

ITI Director of Programs & Logistics, A. Sam-Abbenyi, M.D., featured as a guest blogger for Global Health Progress.

Trachoma: Elderly Are Not Immune

(TropIKA.net, October 8, 2008)

ITI featured in online news article focused on World Sight Day 2008.  "ITI has cautioned that the elderly are not immune from the affects of blinding trachoma."

BBC Survival Series - Distant Places, Forgotten Lives

(BBC World News, October 4, 2008)

ITI's Niger Country Representative, Samna Mohamed, is featured in the first of an eight-part documentary series on global health entitled "Survival."  This first film, "Distant Places, Forgotten Lives," focuses on an ambitious national treatment program to tackle three NTDs—trachoma, schistosomiasis, and lymphatic filariasis—in Niger, West Africa.

View video of full segment.  

Progress and Challenges in Fighting Blinding Trachoma in Africa Highlighted for World Sight Day
(Ghana News, October 2, 2008)
ITI is highlighting two new films that show significant progress and formidable challenges in eliminating trachoma.

5,000 Surgeries
(Joy Online, July 1, 2008)
Five thousand people in the Northern and Upper West regions risk going blind if they don't undergo surgical operations within 18 months.

Ghana Announces Significant Progress Toward Eliminating Blinding Trachoma
(Africa Science News Service)
Ghana’s national Trachoma Control Program is on track to meet its goal of eliminating blinding trachoma by 2010.

::: Click here for ITI In the News Archive :::

Trachoma and NTDs In The News

Ministry to Organize Campaign Against Malaria, Trachoma

(Walta Information Center - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 16, 2008)

The Ministry of Health announced that a week long integrated campaign would be organized in the Amhara state to prevent and treat malaria and trachoma.

The Best Buy in Public Health

(New York Times Blog, November 14, 2008)

Given the success against this one neglected tropical disease (lymphatic filariasis), we shouldn't hesitate taking on the rest.  Beating these diseases is within our grasp, and it could be the most cost-effective investment we'll ever make in global public health.

Eliminating Blindness Due to Trachoma: Is It Possible

(Voice of America, November 4, 2008)

Trachoma is one of the world's most common causes of blindness.  Between 10 and 15 percent of all people who lose their sight do so because of the disease.  But as Rose Hoban reports, researchers are finding there are cheap, affordable ways to eradicate the disease in remote regions.

Thirsty World: Desperate Quest for Water

(CNN, October 20, 2008)

Billions of people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Toilets, Waste Disposal Keys to Quality of Life, Study Says

(Bloomberg News, October 20, 2008)

Modern toilets and more effective disposal of human waste are key factors to help lower health costs and raise people's quality of life, a United Nations study said.

::: Click here for Trachoma and NTDs In the News Archive :::