Timor-Leste Ends Trachoma, Completing a Regional Health Milestone

WHO granted the validation after a rigorous process that examined whether trachoma still posed a public health risk and assessed the country’s ability to detect, investigate and manage future cases.

Timor-Leste has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, earning official validation from the World Health Organization and closing the final suspected pocket of the disease in WHO's South-East Asia Region. The achievement means the entire region is now free from trachoma as a public health threat, marking major progress against the world's leading infectious cause of blindness and bringing the global community closer to its 2030 elimination target.

Years of Investigation Found No Continuing Transmission

WHO granted the validation after a rigorous process that examined whether trachoma still posed a public health risk and assessed the country's ability to detect, investigate and manage future cases. Investigations conducted between 2015 and 2017 included examinations of children on Atauro Island, screenings at eye clinics across Timor-Leste and targeted house-to-house searches, with health teams finding no cases of the disease.

Timor-Leste continued gathering evidence instead of relying only on those early findings, using new studies to build a clear picture of trachoma across the country. A nationwide survey completed in 2025 analysed 4,949 samples collected from children aged one to five across all 13 municipalities, finding no evidence of transmission at a level that would require a dedicated trachoma intervention.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the country for combining careful planning, field investigation and modern surveillance to protect communities from preventable blindness. He described the elimination of trachoma across South-East Asia as an important step towards ending the disease worldwide by 2030.

Eye Care and Surveillance Will Protect the Achievement

Validation does not mean Timor-Leste will stop looking for the disease, since individual cases of trichiasis, the painful advanced stage in which eyelashes turn inward and scrape the eye, may still require treatment. The country will maintain its ability to identify and manage these cases through the national eye-care system, with specialised services such as trichiasis surgery available at the National Eye Centre at Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares in Dili and through outreach programmes serving municipalities.

Trachoma monitoring will become part of existing national disease and neglected tropical disease surveillance platforms, allowing health teams to watch for possible cases while using staff, laboratories and reporting systems more efficiently. National efforts to widen access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene will also help preserve the gains, since clean living conditions and good hygiene reduce the risk of infection spreading within families and communities.

National Leadership Turned Evidence into Lasting Progress

Timor-Leste's Minister of Health, Dr Élia A. dos Reis Amaral, called the validation a source of immense national pride and credited health workers, communities and partner organisations for sustaining the work required to defeat a preventable disease. She said the milestone strengthens the country's commitment to universal health coverage and an equitable, resilient health system capable of reaching people wherever they live.

WHO officials highlighted the value of strong national leadership, community engagement, integrated health services and high-quality evidence throughout the elimination journey. The work was led by Timor-Leste's Ministry of Health with support from WHO and several research and eye-health partners, including The Fred Hollows Foundation, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Menzies School of Health Research, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney, Lions Clubs International Foundation and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.

Timor-Leste's success carries significance far beyond its borders, showing that a young country with limited resources can defeat an infectious cause of blindness through persistent investigation, trusted community relationships and health services designed to keep working after international recognition has been secured.