Conclusions & Recommendations

TEC recognizes the current gap in leadership at the MOH and urges WHO-EMR and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)-EMR to undertake high-level advocacy for filling the gap in leadership and for taking the trachoma program forward. TEC is prepared to offer assistance to this process, and in particular looks forward to receiving a Zithromax® Application for consideration to address the scale of the trachoma needs in Egypt.

TEC notes with concern the challenges with funding and technical support for Afghanistan and Yemen and program delays in Pakistan.

TEC recommends that ITI collaborate with The Task Force for Global Health to convene a meeting including partners and experts (e.g., a pharmacologist) to discuss more-frequent-than-annual MDA and other topics of urgency to the global trachoma program.

TEC recognizes the urgency to achieving elimination of trachoma as a public health problem and will continue to meet in consultation with WHO and informed experts to develop actionable guidance for decision-making.

Following the TEC 24 meeting, ITI will share this ‘catch-up’ conclusion with national trachoma programs, implementing partners, and donors.

Regarding catch-up treatments, the TEC concluded that:
- In certain situations where national programs have experienced delays in mass drug administration (MDA) and would like to catch up to their implementation timeline, TEC will consider Zithromax® donation requests with an interval between MDA rounds of at least 6 months.
- 6 months is the 'minimum acceptable' interval between MDA rounds and is not typically expected to replace the standard annual cycle.
- This is subject to change as more data become available.
- Trachoma impact surveys should be conducted after the usual number of rounds (e.g., ≥6 months following the 3rd MDA in implementation units with TF1-9 10-29.9%).

The Trachoma Expert Committee and invited guests met in May 2021 to consider the criteria under which Zithromax® for more-frequent-than-annual MDA would be allocated
Three scenarios were discussed:
1. Catch-up treatments in areas that have experienced programmatic delays or other constraints (e.g., funding, insecurity)
2. Accelerated treatments in areas where the national program would like to expedite elimination (discussions still underway)
3. Intensified treatments in areas with trachoma ‘persistence’ (discussions still underway)

TEC appreciates ESPEN’s continued commitment to filling the gaps in the African and Eastern Mediterranean region.

TEC appreciates the work being done by the ICTC Executive Group and the member organizations to identify gaps as a result of the FCDO budget cuts and support advocacy efforts on behalf of the trachoma community. TEC also noted the work being done to forecast the future trachoma activity funding needs (cost analysis) in support of fundraising efforts.

TEC recognizes and appreciates the long-standing commitment of USAID in support of neglected tropical diseases, including the elimination objectives of trachoma.