Completing the dossier to validate elimination

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a thorough protocol that member states need to complete to validate the elimination of trachoma in their country.

The WHO document Validation of the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem sets out the process in detail. In this step we highlight the key steps and link to the relevant sections in the validation document.

At country level

• The member state prepares a dossier documenting the achievement of elimination targets, using a specific template
• The completed dossier is submitted to the WHO country office. The dossier receipt is acknowledged and then forwarded to the trachoma focal point in the WHO regional office. See sections 90, 100 and 110.

At WHO regional office level

• The dossier is assessed by an ad-hoc reviewing authority called the Dossier Review Group. This group is appointed by the WHO regional director. See sections 120 and 130.
• The members of the review group will follow a clearly established scope of work. See sections 140, 150 and 160.
• Each group member provides an independent review and may participate in a country visit, see section 170, though the country visit is generally not necessary
• The recommendation of the Dossier Review Group may be to validate or postpone validation. See section 150d.
• If the recommendation is to validate, the achievement will be acknowledged by WHO headquarters, in a number of ways. See section 180.

At country level

• After validation: Validation is a reversible state, and all stakeholders should bear this in mind in their communications at all stages. See sections 200, 210, 220 and 230.

As you read through the document, consider why this level of rigour is required?