Algeria Validates Trachoma Elimination, Raising the Bar for NTD Programs

Algeria has become the 29th country globally and the 10th in WHO's African Region to achieve validated elimination of trachoma as a public health problem, a designation that sets a concrete benchmark for the 30 countries where the disease remains endemic. For public health procurement teams, formulary planners, and antibiotic distribution programs operating in endemic regions, the Algerian model offers a documented, replicable framework built on decades of coordinated intervention.

Trachoma, caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, currently responsible for blindness or visual impairment in approximately 1.9 million people, with 97 million living in endemic areas at risk. Algeria's path to elimination centered on the WHO-recommended SAFE strategy: surgical correction of trachomatous trichiasis (TT), mass antibiotic administration, facial cleanliness promotion, and environmental improvements including water and sanitation access. A targeted three-year national strategy from 2013 to 2015 concentrated efforts on 12 southern provinces where disease burden remained highest.

WHO-compliant surveys conducted in 2022 confirmed that active trachoma elimination thresholds were met across all targeted areas. Three provinces initially fell short of the TT threshold; door-to-door screening and case management were subsequently deployed to close that gap. In December 2025, Algeria's Ministry of Health submitted a formal dossier to WHO demonstrating compliance with elimination criteria, citing a functioning school health system, a national health information system, broad water and sanitation access, and extensive specialized eye care coverage as structural safeguards for the post-validation period.

"Algeria's elimination of trachoma is a historic triumph," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, noting the country's century-long commitment dating to the establishment of the Pasteur Institute of Algeria in 1909. WHO continues to recommend active surveillance following validation, a requirement that will sustain demand for diagnostic and treatment infrastructure in-country.