Publisher's Synopsis
A summary of the discussions and conclusions of a major conference convened to assess the feasibility of disease eradication or elimination as a strategy for improving global health. The conference also aimed to identify the specific conditions and diseases having the greatest potential for eradication or elimination, and to produce practical, concrete recommendations for action. Over 200 invited experts for international health and authorities on specific diseases attended the conference, which considered noninfectious diseases as well as infectious diseases as candidates for eradication.;This report includes the plenary papers covering the history of efforts to eradicate diseases, followed by papers updating ongoing disease elimination and eradication programmes. Papers assessing specific candidate diseases or conditions are followed by the conclusions and recommendations of each of five working groups. These covered disease eradication and elimination in the context of sustainable health development, noninfectious diseases, and viral diseases. These reports are followed by a record of comments made during the discussions which followed. The report concludes with detailed fact sheets for 20 specific diseases and conditions. Each fact sheet offers information on the features of the disease, its current importance in the context of the global burden of disease, the biological feasibility of eradication or elimination, estimated costs and benefits, research needs, and the main obstacles to achieving goals.
