Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

This funding will enable the continuation of agreements with the New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australian and Western Australian governments for trachoma control and treatment activities. Treatment activities and milestones include screening at least 85 per cent of five- to nine-year-olds in at-risk communities for trachoma, treatment of at least 85 per cent of trachoma cases and follow-up of any household contact.

I have travelled to the remote communities in outback Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland and seen firsthand the need for programs like Clean Faces, Strong Eyes. Through this funding and agreement, jurisdictions provide surveillance and treatment data to the National Trachoma Surveillance and Reporting Unit. As a result of the collection and analysis of this data, we can see the prevalence has significantly decreased in five- to nine-year-olds in screened communities from 14 per cent in 2009 to four per cent in 2012.