World NTD Day 2026. Act. Unite. Eliminate.

Burundi eliminated trachoma. Proof elimination works.

On 30 January, CBM marks World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day. Our focus in 2026 is the elimination of trachoma. Burundi achieved elimination in 2025. This milestone shows what coordinated national action and long-term partnership deliver.

Vincent lost the eyesight of his left eye due to onchocerciasis - but Mectizan® saved the vision of his right eye.

Eliminating neglected tropical diseases

World NTD Day calls for sustained collaboration and long term commitment. NTDs affect communities facing poverty, weak services, and limited water and sanitation. Elimination changes lives and protects futures.

Why trachoma matters
Trachoma stands as the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. Infection spreads through contact with infected eyes or faces. Risk rises where water, sanitation, and hygiene access falls. Repeated infection scars the eyelid and turns lashes inward. This causes trachomatous trichiasis. Painful. Blinding. Preventable.

Global progress
People needing trachoma interventions fell below 100 million for the first time since records began. As of November 2025, 97.1 million people remained at risk, down from 1.5 billion in 2002. This equals a 94 per cent reduction. This marks a major public health milestone. Global progress proves elimination works when countries and partners stay aligned.

By 2030: A world without trachoma

Elimination is achievable

Burundi, Egypt, and Pakistan eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. Burundi secured validation in July 2025 after two decades of national effort. The country became the first in East Africa to reach this goal. Egypt followed in November 2025, closing a 3,000-year chapter of trachoma history and marking a major step for NTD control in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Pakistan achieved elimination in 2024, becoming the sixth country in the region to do so. These milestones reflect leadership, coordinated action, and sustained partnership.

Where CBM works now

CBM supports trachoma and NTD programmes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Sudan. Focus areas include prevention, treatment, surgery, and health system strengthening.

With support from CBM, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) National NTD Programme launched the Sight for Africa project in June 2025 to accelerate trachoma elimination efforts across the country. This initiative, in partnership with Sightsavers and with funding from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), aims to cover over 2.5 million people across ten districts in the DRC through trachomatous trichiasis (TT) surgery campaigns, bringing care to remote areas where advanced trachoma continues to threaten the eyesight and dignity of thousands. 
 

Trachoma remains a major public health concern in the DRC, where insecurity, limited infrastructure, and funding gaps have hindered access to surgical care. While mass drug administration has been rolled out in these areas, many people with late-stage trachoma still lack access to surgery—a key step toward elimination. 

CBM's impact in trachoma elimination (2021-2024)

  • 13 mln people reached

  • 11.3 mln doses of Azithromycin provided

  • 30,100 community members received TT Surgeries

  • 26,200 WASH facilities constructed (wells, boreholes, latrines)

Advocating for policies and practices to advance NTD elimination

  • Members of the NTD team joined over 300 delegates from more than 100 organizations to participate in the 16th annual conference of the Neglected Tropical Diseases NGO Network, held in Uganda. Members of the team together with colleagues from the END Fund facilitated a workshop session on “Sustaining MDA Coverage and Surveillance Quality: Country Innovations and Lessons from Onchocerciasis Entomological Assessments.”
  • The NTD team represented CBM at the second International Conference on NTD Research (InCORNTD) in Africa from 20–22 January 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda. The team presented a poster on findings from a study on lymphoedema morbidity management and disability prevention in an internally displaced persons camp in the DRC.

Donors, partnerships and alliances that support CBM