MEDIA ADVISORY

For Immediate Release                     Media Contacts:
June 20, 2008                                   In U.S.:  Geoffrey Knox: +212-229-0540
                                                          In Ghana:  Cyril Heymann: +233 24 461 0679
                                                                                    

GHANA TO ANNOUNCE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARD ELIMINATING BLINDING TRACHOMA

The Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service and International Trachoma Initiative to address achievements in fighting trachoma, which has blinded over 11,600 Ghanaians with 2.8 million more at risk of infection

WHAT:    Press Conference to Release Findings from 2007/8 Ghana Trachoma Control Mid-Term Review.  The Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) will release results from the country’s latest impact assessment survey.  The survey was conducted from December 2007 to March 2008, encompasses two Ghana regions—Northern and Upper West— and covers all 26 districts in which blinding trachoma is endemic.*  The survey findings will allow public health officials and non-governmental partners to assess achievements and challenges in meeting the Ghana Trachoma Control Program’s goal of eliminating blinding trachoma by 2010.

Ghana has been a global leader, working with national and international partners, in efforts to control and eliminate blindness due to trachoma.  ITI and GHS will present documentary film footage showing activities and achievements of the WHO-endorsed SAFE strategy (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement), including sight-saving surgeries being performed and the effect of trachoma control on Ghanaian rural communities.

WHO:      Speakers at the press conference will include:

• Hon. Major (Rtd) Courage Quashigah, Minister of Health for Ghana
• Dr. Elias Sory, Director General, Ghana Health Service
• Ibrahim Jabr, President, International Trachoma Initiative

WHEN:    Friday, June 27, 2008 at 10:00 AM GMT

WHERE:  Novotel Hotel, Barnes Road, Accra City Centre, Ghana

WHY:      More than 11,600 Ghanaians are already blind due to damage from repeated trachoma infection, and an estimated 2.8 million more Ghanaians were at risk at the beginning of the control program.  Women in Ghana were 2-3 times as likely to suffer from trichiasis and ensuing blindness.  Prevalence surveys conducted prior to the program showed active trachoma prevalence among children aged 1-9 to be as high as 16.1% in some districts.  More than 13,000 Ghanaians had trichiasis, the advanced stage of the disease, and needed immediate sight-saving surgery. The Ghana Trachoma Control Program, together with ITI and other partners, developed and implemented a strategic plan using the SAFE strategy to eliminate trachoma as a disease of public health significance.

*When the survey was first conducted the number of trachoma endemic districts was 18. The government however decided to split some of the districts for administrative reasons. Thus, the 18 districts became 26 although the population remained the same. Our original surveys were conducted in the 18 districts. In conducting our impact assessment survey, we put the divided districts back into their parent districts to allow us to compare the results.

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The International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) is a non-governmental organization working to prevent, treat and ultimately eliminate blinding trachoma. Building on trachoma elimination success in Morocco, ITI currently works in 15 countries in Africa and Asia.  ITI is a major proponent and facilitator of the SAFE strategy to prevent and eliminate trachoma through Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement. ITI, created through a public-private partnership of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and Pfizer Inc, collaborates with international agencies, governmental, and non-governmental organizations to build targeted support—including Zithromax® donated by Pfizer—for expanded implementation of the SAFE strategy, operational research and program evaluation, education and advocacy. http://www.trachoma.org