The Journal of mHealth Vol 3 Issue 1 (Feb/Mar 2016) | Page 31

Global mHealth Mapping Project Identifies Millions at Risk of Blindness
The findings of the mapping include trachoma prevalence statistics for 29 countries at risk7 including Ethiopia, a high
burden country where over 50 million
people are living in endemic areas.
Thanks to the android technology, the
GTMP has been able to capture and
record on the Trachoma Atlas database
more districts in three years than had
been ever previously been recorded. The
project mapped in areas where no data
previously existed because of remoteness, insecurity, insufficient funding, or
competing public health priorities.
Having a complete map of the disease’s
prevalence means that ministries of
health in endemic countries have the
evidence base to focus health strategies
to tackle the neglected tropical disease
with WHO-approved interventions
of surgery, antibiotics (through mass
drug administration), face-cleanliness
and environmental improvements (like
sanitation). Ministries of health are now
more equipped with accurate information to tackle this disease.

mation was cleaned and analysed before
being sent to local governments for
review, approval and use.

During the last three years, more than
550 teams of trained surveyors, including ophthalmic nurses and other government eye health care workers, have
visited millions of people in sample
households in the most remote locations
of 29 countries, including Chad, Eritrea,
Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Solomon
Islands, Colombia and Yemen.

Dr Caroline Harper, CEO of Sightsavers, said: “The biggest infectious disease
mapping exercise in history, ‘The Global
Trachoma Mapping Project’ has been
completed within agreed timescales and
budget.
Funded by the UK government, in partnership with the US and
WHO, this creates a lasting platform
which will underpin the drive to eliminate blinding trachoma, and will also
contribute to efforts to eliminate other
neglected tropical diseases. It demonstrates how critical accurate data is in the
battle to eliminate diseases, and has been
a tremendous exercise in collaboration
and the use of mobile technology”.

The teams carried out eye examinations
and used mobile phones to record their
findings, which were then sent to a data
centre in Atlanta, USA. There, the infor-

Trachoma is the leading infectious cause
of blindness in the world, impairing the
vision of around 2.2 million people, of
whom 1.2 million are irreversibly blind.

It is a health problem in around 51 countries, including Asia and the Middle East,
with Africa carrying the bulk of the burden. The disease is mostly prevalent in
poor, crowded communities with limited
access to clean water and sanitation. In
its initial stages, it mainly passes between
children aged one to five, and the women
who care for them.
Ethiopia has the world’s highest trachoma prevalence, with an estimated 50
million people living in endemic areas.
Yabeiywok Sema, who is 60 years old
and lives with her husband and grandchildren, was diagnosed with trichiasis
by the team of mappers who visited her
house. “I had constant pain in my eye
and could see less and less which made
farming, my main source of income, difficult,” she says. “I didn’t visit the health
clinic because I didn’t realise how serious
the infection was or that free surgery was
available. At times the pain was very bad
and I would rub my eyes to try to make it
stop.” Yabeiywok was referred to a local
health clinic and had surgery one week
later to stop her eyesight from deteriorating further.
Trachoma is responsible for three per
cent of the world’s blindness. It is caused
by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, and is thought to be spread through
personal contact (hands, clothing) and
by flies that have been in contact with
discharge from the eyes or nose of an
infected person. After repeated infection
it can develop into trichiasis – where the
eyelids turn in and the lashes scrape the
eyeball, causing great pain and leading to
permanent blindness.
Continued on page 30

The Journal of mHealth

29