More than 57 delegates from the seven countries forming Eastern Africa are meeting for the first time to discuss strategies on how to completely eliminate Trachoma from the region by the year 2020.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday at Maanzoni hotel in Machakos County where the two days Eastern Africa Trachoma consultative meeting will be taking place, the International Trachoma Initiative Director, Paul Emerson, said the forum is intended to develop a joint strategic plan on how the disease can be completely eliminated from the region.
Emerson said it would be hard for each individual countries to eliminate the disease in isolation, hence the need for harmonisation of practical elimination strategic plans and execution of the initiatives as a region.
He said working as a team would be much cost effective in terms of resources since all the countries will pull their resources which include finances, human resources and technology together thereby leading to timely eradication of the disease.
Emerson said working together as a region would also enable the countries share and learn from experiences of the disease in other countries and best practices for replication and adoption in order to improve intervention and and faster elimination of the disease.
"We will as a forum, brainstorm on the best elimination and prevention strategies to adopt so as to completely kick trachoma out of East Africa as a whole," said Emerson.
Emerson said the disease had great negative economic impact in the region since it leads to poverty within the communities prompting children to withdraw from school to look after their aging parents, caretakers or relatives affected by trachoma.
He said the International Trachoma Initiative would partner with ministries of health from all member countries, development partners and the United States to ensure the disease which is highly infectious is completely eliminated from the entire region.
Dr Michael Gichangi, Head of Ophthalmic Services Unit, Ministry of Health Kenya, said trachoma had already been mapped by the county governments especially those that are more prone to the disease.
Gichangi said various counties have Trachoma Action Plans with the national government already supporting initiatives meant to fight the disease through provision of drugs, staff training and improvement of the infrastructure to ensure elimination of the disease from counties.
He said the pastoral communities counties which include Turkana, Samburu, Kajiado and Kitui were the most affected by the disease.