Fighting Disease: The Republic of Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan
The leading cause of preventable blindness in the world, trachoma is an excruciating bacterial disease endemic to the poorest countries of the world. Although not typically a fatal disease, severe trachoma is disabling, debilitating, and eventually leads to blindness. The Carter Center supports trachoma control in six African countries in partnership with trachoma-endemic communities, ministries of health, the Lions Clubs International Foundation, Pfizer Inc., and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Learn more about the Carter Center's Trachoma Control
Program >
The Carter Center has supported the trachoma control program in Sudan in collaboration with the federal Ministry of Health since 1999. Support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Lions Clubs International Foundation, and Pfizer Inc. has enabled trachoma prevalence mapping and implementation of SAFE strategy interventions. After the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, The Carter Center extended its support to the newly formed Government of Southern Sudan to administer trachoma control in two southern states — Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria — where the trachoma burden is among the worst in the world.
The Center's first efforts in Sudan, supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, were to conduct baseline surveys of trachoma prevalence. The surveys disproved the commonly held belief that only northern regions of the nation were affected by trachoma. While the Center currently supports the federal Ministry of Health of Sudan to conduct additional trachoma prevalence mapping throughout the entire northern states, it also has called attention to the devastating impact of this disease in Southern Sudan.
In 2008, a Carter Center-led survey found the trachoma prevalence of Ayod County, Southern Sudan, to be one of the most severe ever documented. Many children there are nearly blind due to the advanced form of trachoma — trichiasis — which in other places is seen only in older adults who have had repeated trachoma infections over many years. Fortunately, with help from The Carter Center, the number of children and adults with this debilitating condition is being reduced.
The Carter Center supports SAFE strategy interventions in Sudan and South Sudan.
The Carter Center also facilitates the mass distribution of antibiotics in districts where clinical signs of trachoma exceed 10 percent in children. Zithromax® (azithromycin, donated by Pfizer Inc.) and tetracycline eye ointment, purchased by The Carter Center, are provided to adults and children older than 6 months of age. Infants and self-reporting pregnant women are provided tetracycline eye ointment.
The Carter Center continues to promote ongoing health education through community health worker training, radio programming, and school-based health activities.
In Sudan, since 1999, the Carter Center-supported program has supported a cumulative total of 11,843 trichiasis surgeries, has trained 242 trichiasis surgeons, and distributed 1,585,198 doses of azithromycin and 14,076 doses of tetracycline eye ointment.
In government of Southern Sudan areas, since 1999, the Center has supported a cumulative total of 15,284 surgeries, has trained 107 trichiasis surgeons, and facilitated the distribution of 2,139,372 doses of azithromycin and 344,400 doses of tetracycline eye ointment. A total of 3,226 villages currently benefit from ongoing health education.
Working with our partners in Sudan, The Carter Center is building hope by helping trachoma-endemic communities access the tools and knowledge they need to fight this debilitating disease.
Learn more about the Carter Center's Trachoma Control Program in Sudan and South Sudan >
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