HUNDREDS of thousands of children in Morocco have been saved from blindness
by a programme that relies on the commitment of Morocco鈥檚 government and the
generosity of pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer. It has been hailed as a model for
tackling disease in developing countries.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real source of inspiration for other countries with the problem,鈥�
says Jeff Mecaskey, programme director of the International Trachoma Initiative,
the charity directing the scheme. Set up three years ago, the ITI aims to rid
the world of trachoma, a form of blindness caused by the bacterium Chlamydia
trachomatis. ITI has already reduced the incidence of trachoma in Moroccan
children by three-quarters. The disease took decades to banish from the
West.
The bacterium spreads on towels and clothing, and in contaminated water.
鈥淎lso, flies carry it from one dirty face to another,鈥� says Mecaskey. Infections
cause inflammation of the inner eyelid, making it rub against the cornea.
Repeated infections over many years eventually damage the cornea so badly that
people lose their sight by the time they reach their forties or fifties.
Worldwide, 6 million people are blind as a result of trachoma and 540 million
are at risk.
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The ITI programme was three-pronged. Using a simple surgical technique that
takes just 15 minutes under local anaesthetic, surgeons are repairing the
eyelids of infected people who鈥檝e not yet been blinded.
Nurses are also treating infections with Zithromax, an antibiotic provided
free by the drugs giant Pfizer. Unlike the old treatment, tetracycline, which
had to be applied twice a day for six weeks, just a single dose of Zithromax per
year is effective. 鈥淭he kids didn鈥檛 used to comply, but now they do,鈥� says
Mecaskey.
Finally, government workers have been advising mothers how to wash without
passing on infection, and state agencies have been trying to provide clean
water.
鈥淣o single element of our strategy would have been successful on its own,鈥�
says Mecaskey. 鈥淏ut the Moroccans have done a stellar job.鈥�
Pfizer has said that it will continue to make Zithromax available for as long
as these programmes continue to show progress, Mecaskey says. 鈥淚 like that
approach, of keeping us in the hot seat. It鈥檚 a driver for success,鈥� he says.
Pfizer last week pledged an extra $200 million for the initiative on top
of its initial $66 million.
鈥淥xfam welcomes such well run programmes,鈥� says a spokeswoman for the
British-based charity. 鈥淏ut Pfizer could make a more comprehensive effort by
expanding its donation programme and reviewing its patents and pricing
policies,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e think it could go a stage further.鈥�
The ITI aims to eradicate trachoma from Morocco by 2005. Buoyed by its
spectacular progress so far, the ITI is adding three more countries鈥擭iger,
Nepal and Ethiopia鈥攖o the existing programmes in Morocco, Ghana, Mali,
Tanzania, Sudan and Vietnam. Together, these countries account for a fifth of
all trachoma cases.