The Journal of mHealth Vol 3 Issue 1 (Feb/Mar 2016) | Page 32

Global mHealth Mapping Project Identifies Millions at Risk of Blindness
Continued from page 29

Funded by DFID and co-funded by
USAID, GTMP was led by Sightsavers. This ground-breaking collaboration
was a partnership of 30 ministries of
health, the London School of Hygiene
& Tropical Medicine, the International
Trachoma Initiative, the World Health
Organization and over 20 not for profit
eye health organisations, most of which
are members of the International Coalition for Trachoma Control.
GTMP epidemiologists and partners
helped to strengthen public health systems by training eye health workers in
trachoma survey methodology; analysis
and data management; and, where applicable will also be supporting the publication of trachoma and WASH survey
findings in peer reviewed journals.
Sarah Bartlett, Sightsavers’ mHealth
Adviser for Neglected Tropical Dis-

eases describes future steps for the
project, “Mobile phones used by the
GTMP have been made available to the
ministries of health for future disease
management programmes. It is estimated a total of approximately 2,500
people worked on GTMP worldwide.
Up next for the collaboration behind
the GTMP is an initiative called Tropical Data. Building on the GTMP model,
it covers all trachoma related data so
that national programs can manage
and accurately track their national disease elimination interventions. As the
name suggests, Tropical Data will open
up their service to other Neglected
Tropical Diseases in the coming years,
potentially saving billions of dollars on
interventions and making elimination
of neglected tropical diseases a reality in our lifetime. If the public health
community is clever, data collection
models like the GTMP’s will be used
for much more.”

Global Trachoma
Mapping Project
Trachoma is the
world’s leading
infectious cause
of avoidable
blindness.

!
15

Someone loses
their sight every
15 minutes –
but they don’t
have to.

We can only eliminate trachoma if we know where to start.
Carried out between 2012-2015, the Global Trachoma Mapping
Project has been the largest infectious disease survey in history!

Using smart phone technology
we have examined
2.6

million

2.6 million people
in
1546 districts

1

person

was examined every
40 seconds

100

million

30

people need
medical
treatments

2160

people screened everyday

29

countries mapped
in 3 years

To find out more visit:
globaltrachomamappingproject.org
Funded by UK aid and USAID
working in collaboration with
63 partners: ministries of health,
not for profits and academics

February/March 2016

About the Global Trachoma
Mapping Project (GTMP):
1. GTMP data and systems identified
100 million people globally who live in
areas in which the TF (trachoma follicular) prevalence in children is ≥5%. This
equates to 45% of the global population
surveyed by GTMP.
2. DFID (Department for International
Development) funded GTMP baseline
mapping began on December 17th 2012
in Oromia, Ethiopia and final DFID
funded GTMP baseline mapping ended
on 11th January 2016 in Afar, Ethiopia.
(Work was not continuous in Ethiopia.
Some projects in Ethiopia were put on
hold because of security concerns and
inaccessibility – e.g. collapsed bridge).
The GTMP grant began in July 2012 and
will end in April 2016.
3. Countries where GTMP methods
were used to support baseline mapping
include: Benin, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Cote d' Ivoire, Democratic Republic
of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji,
Guinea, Kiribati, Laos, Malawi, Mexico,
Mozambique, Pakistan, Papua New
Guinea, Nigeria, Republic of Congo,
Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zanzibar,
Zimbabwe and Yemen. The total number of health districts mapped during
the timeframe of the Global Trachoma
Mapping Project was 1,627. 95% (1,546)
of these districts were mapped with
GTMP standardised methodologies.
4. 24 organisations: AMREF, Barraqua
Institue, BICO, Brien Holden Institute,
The Carter Center, College of Ophthalmology & Allied Vision Sciences, Fred
Hollows Foundation, FHI 360, Helen
Keller International, International Coalition for Trachoma Control, International
Trachoma Initiative (The Task Force for
Global Health), Johns Hopkins University, Kilimanjaro Centre for Community
Ophthalmology, Light for the World
(Austria), Light for the World (Netherlands), London School of Hygiene &
Tropical Medicine, Magrabi Foundation, Mitosath, ORBIS, Organisation
for the Prevention of Blindness (OPC),
Organizacion Panamericana de la Salud
(PAHO), RTI, Sightsavers and the
World Health Organization. 7 Ethiopian
Regional Health Bureaus worked on specific projects including: Afar, BeneshanContinued on page 32