Morocco cut by 90% trachoma prevalence among children, health experts

Morocco is the most successful country in terms of eradicating trachoma so far, as a it has succeeded in cutting by 90% trachoma prevalence among children, say health experts.

Since 1999, Morocco has significantly reduced the prevalence of the disease and the country is on track to eliminate trachoma completely by the year 2005, said, here Tuesday, the American NGO "International Trachoma Initiative" (ITI) and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

At a joint press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, ITI and Pfizer congratulated Morocco for this "remarkable" and "encouraging" performance, asserting that the objective set out by the kingdom to eradicate completely this disease by 2005 is within its reach.

They said that "the campaign of struggle against trachoma launched in Morocco's southern provinces does benefit from the support of H.M king Mohammed VI, from local authorities and from the Civil Society."

Pfizer has announced a major effort to eliminate the blinding eye condition by the year 2020. The target date was set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The highly contagious disease affects 150 million people around the world, and is the world's leading cause of preventable blindness.