Impoverished communities in Amhara Region, Ethiopia—the world’s most trachoma-endemic area—are harnessing an innovative and far-reaching approach to treating and preventing this blinding bacterial infection. Approximately every six months, rotating between the eastern and western halves of Amhara, The Carter Center, in partnership with the Ethiopia Ministry of Health and Lions Clubs International Foundation, mobilizes millions of people in one week to receive treatments of the antibiotic Zithromax® (donated by Pfizer Inc.) and participate in health education workshops on preventing trachoma and malaria. This efficient and cost-effective public health strategy is freeing time and resources for health workers to address other critical needs throughout the year. The fifth “MALTRA” week, to be held Nov.1-7, 2010, in western Amhara, is expected to reach more than 9 million people. Watch Dr. Paul Emerson, director of the Carter Center’s Trachoma Control Program, on the ground in Amhara as he explains why the region is at the cutting edge of trachoma control and paving the way for this new health care delivery approach to be used to combat other problems.
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