Evaluation of the Pacific Trachoma Initiative

The Goal of the Pacific Trachoma Initiative (PTI) was to achieve the elimination of blinding trachoma as a public health problem by 2019 in four Pacific Island Countries (PICs): Fiji; Solomon Islands; Vanuatu; and Kiribati. The Objectives of the PTI were: 1. To clarify the enigmatic clinical presentation of trachoma in the PICs; and 2. To guide the policies and activities of the PIC national governments to support effective and sustainable elimination of trachoma by 2019.

The PTI has been implemented by the Ministries of Health and Ministries of Health and Medical Services (hereafter referred to as MoH) and trachoma coordinators in each of the four PICs. The research components have been led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The programme has been funded by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust (The Trust) with Zithromax donations from the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI).

As a process evaluation, the methodology used in this evaluation has sought to investigate and analyse which aspects of the PTI intervention were critical to success, which aspects limited or hindered success and based on lessons, make recommendations for future trachoma programming in the Pacific. The evaluation questions focused on: effectiveness of planning and implementation; the PTI’s adaptive response to research findings; the efficient use of program resources; the positive and negative impacts on national health systems; the effectiveness of the partnerships; and the extent to which the PTI equitably reached trachoma endemic communities.