The number of people requiring interventions to protect them from the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, trachoma, has fallen below 100 million for the first time, down from 1.5 billion in 2002, the WHO reports. That’s a 94% reduction in just over two decades. Six countries achieved WHO-validated elimination in the past year alone, including Senegal, Fiji, Egypt, and most recently Libya in February 2026. Twenty-seven countries have now eliminated the disease entirely.
The progress is driven by the WHO’s SAFE strategy—surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvement—a straightforward approach that has proved remarkably effective. Thirty-two countries still have work to do, with 90% of the remaining burden concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.
“A 94% decrease in people at risk since 2002 is a remarkable achievement,” said a representative of the International Coalition for Trachoma Control. “However, nearly 100 million people remain at risk and approximately US$ 300 million are needed to fill funding gaps for surgery, antibiotics, surveys, and priority research to achieve the 2030 global elimination target.”
The 2030 target was set by the World Health Assembly in 2020, as part of a program of combatting what are called “neglected tropical diseases.” Trachoma is caused by a bacterial infection that roughens the inner surface of the eyelids, causing damage to the eyes.