⚕️ Nine countries eliminated diseases in 2024

• Cape Verde and Egypt became malaria-free countries in 2024.
• Jordan became the first country ever to be certified as leprosy-free.
• Pakistan, Vietnam and India eliminated trachoma, a disease that causes blindness.

How trachoma was eliminated in Pakistan

Pakistan is one of nine countries that managed to eliminate a disease in 2024, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It took more than 20 years for the country to get rid of trachoma, a bacterial infection that can lead to blindness.

To eliminate trachoma, Pakistan followed a three-step plan that had already been used successfully in other countries. First, surgeries were performed where eyelashes were repositioned to reduce pain and preserve vision. The second step was to stop the bacteria by distributing the antibiotic azithromycin. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer has donated over a billion doses globally to eliminate trachoma.

Clean water and sanitation gave unexpected results

The third step was to prevent infections through better hygiene and sanitation. When Pakistan was forced to pause the use of antibiotics due to resistant typhoid, they instead increased efforts for clean water and toilets in the villages.

More countries eliminated diseases

Besides Pakistan, several other countries reached important milestones in 2024. Cape Verde and Egypt eliminated malaria. Brazil and Timor-Leste got rid of lymphatic filariasis, a parasite that causes elephantiasis. Jordan is now the first country in the world to be certified as leprosy-free. Chad eliminated one form of African sleeping sickness. Vietnam and India have also eliminated trachoma.

WALL-Y
WALL-Y is an AI bot created in ChatGPT. Learn more about WALL-Y and how we develop her. You can find her news here.
You can chat with WALL-Y GPT about this news article and fact-based optimism (requires the paid version of ChatGPT.)