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Something remarkable happened in San Salvador in July 2026.
On the morning of July 13th, in a room attended by El Salvador’s Minister of Health, the Ambassador of Canada, field health workers, and international partners, El Salvador was officially validated as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. As PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr. handed over the certificate, the applause was not just for a country — it was for decades of relentless community health work, political commitment, and the quiet, determined efforts of thousands of health workers who reached the most remote, most vulnerable corners of a nation.
As Sub Regional Co Chair of Latin America, I had the honor of being invited and be in this room, representing the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
Following the certification ceremony, the Seventh Regional Meeting of National Programs for the Elimination of Trachoma as a Public Health Problem in the Americas brought together approximately 40 participants from across Latin America and the Caribbean for a focused technical exchange. Participants included national ministerial delegates from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, and Venezuela, alongside international partners including the CDC, WHO, Tropical Data, ITI, ICTC, and our IAPB member Instituto Suel Abujamra (Project Aldeia em Foco).
Over three days of technical sessions, the message was consistent and powerful: the Americas are closer than ever to becoming the first region in the world to eliminate trachoma entirely. The infrastructure built to get here — the community trust, the surveillance systems, the trained health workers, the national leadership, governance and stewardship, the multisectoral partnerships — is extraordinary. And it must not be allowed to disappear once the last trachoma case is recorded.
Trachoma is caused by a bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, disproportionately affects communities facing limited access to water, sanitation and health services. It thrives where there is no clean water, no sanitation, no access to health services. The communities that bear the highest burden of trachoma are the same communities that face the highest rates of uncorrected refractive error, untreated cataracts, and preventable blindness.
This is where IAPB’s 2030 InSight strategy becomes not just relevant, but essential.
During Panel “Integration of Eye Health Indicators and Actions into Trachoma Activities”, IAPB alongside Caio Abujamra from Instituto Suel Abujamra (Project Aldeia em Foco) and Stuart Keel from WHO, made the case that the transition from vertical trachoma programs to Integrated People-Centred Eye Care (IPEC) is both possible and urgent. When a community health worker visits a remote indigenous village to check for trachoma, can, when appropriately trained and equipped, also contribute to identifying other eye health needs. When a field team conducts a trachoma survey, it can embed a basic vision assessment. One visit can create opportunities to address multiple health needs, maximizing impact.
Panama’s presentation of their innovative “Ecosistema Plus” baseline survey protocol was a vivid illustration of this principle in action: one field visit designed to yield multiple health diagnoses, optimizing resources and maximizing coverage in areas of extreme vulnerability.
This is not a radical idea. This approach illustrates the potential of integration to make better use of existing platforms while responding to broader health needs including eye health care. e
On the final day, in Panel “Strengthening Global Partnership – Next Steps”, IAPB joined colleagues from the CDC, Tropical Data, and WHO to discuss how to sustain the partnerships and political momentum that have made trachoma elimination possible.
The message was simple: trachoma elimination is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a new chapter — one in which the eye health sector can leverage everything built through Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) programs to deliver comprehensive, sustainable, equity-centred care to the communities that need it most.
Eye health is a “golden thread” running through the Sustainable Development Goals. Addressing vision impairment reduces poverty, keeps children in school, advances gender equality, and increases workforce productivity. When we invest in eye health in the most vulnerable communities, we are not just preventing blindness — we are investing in human dignity and economic resilience.
PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative provides a regional framework for accelerating the elimination of more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions by 2030 through integrated, people-centered approaches. Trachoma elimination illustrates this vision in practice: reaching populations in vulnerable and hard-to-reach settings requires strong primary health care, surveillance, community engagement, intersectoral action, and sustained national leadership.
As countries move closer to eliminating trachoma as a public health problem, there is an important opportunity to build on the platforms, capacities, and community relationships developed through elimination efforts. Integrating broader eye health actions, where appropriate and feasible, can help extend the benefits of these investments beyond a single disease while supporting more comprehensive services for populations that have historically faced barriers to care. This is central to the Elimination Initiative’s vision: using disease elimination as a catalyst for stronger, more integrated and sustainable health services that leave lasting benefits for communities.
The story of trachoma elimination in the Americas, shaped by community mobilization, integrated approaches, political commitment, and strong partnerships, is exactly the kind of success story that deserves to be shared on the global stage. I left San Salvador with a clear conviction: the Latin American eye health community has something extraordinary to share with the world, and the Global Summit is the moment to do it.
Dr. Sandra Talero, Technical Officer for Neglected Tropical Diseases at PAHO, whose dedication to the trachoma elimination agenda in the Americas has been unwavering, reflected on the significance of the moment: “Trachoma elimination has shown us that reaching communities in the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach settings creates opportunities to address health needs beyond a single disease. By integrating trachoma activities with eye health and other health interventions, we can make better use of each contact with communities, strengthen local capacities, and ensure that the investments made for elimination leave broader and lasting benefits”.
Dr. Martha Saboyá, Senior Advisor for the Communicable Diseases Elimination Initiative at PAHO, added a broader perspective: “The Americas have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to turn disease elimination into opportunities for more integrated and sustainable health services. Through PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative, we are building on this experience to connect disease-specific efforts with broader health needs. Partners and donors have been fundamental in helping countries translate this vision into action and bring integrated approaches to the communities that need them most”
These words capture the spirit of the meeting — and the spirit of what IAPB hopes to help build alongside PAHO in the years ahead. I am proud that IAPB was at the table.
The work continues. The vision is clear.
