On May 8, 1980 The World Health Assembly accepted the WHO Global Commission’s recommendation and declared the world free from smallpox. No cases of naturally occurring smallpox have happened since.
The declaration marked the end of a disease that had plagued humanity for at least 3000 years, killing 300 million people in the 20th century alone. The world got rid of smallpox thanks to an incredible demonstration of global solidarity, and because it had a safe and effective vaccine.
Smallpox eradication offers hope for efforts to eliminate other infectious diseases, including polio, which is now endemic in just two countries. To date, 187 countries, territories and areas have been certified free of Guinea worm disease, with seven more to go. And the fight against malaria has so far resulted in 38 countries and territories certified as malaria-free. In the case of Tuberculosis (TB), 57 countries and territories with low TB incidence are on track to reach TB elimination.
Without an effective treatment against a disease, there is no possibility of eradicating it. There are only two ways to accomplish this.
(1) Preventative, such as vaccination.
(2) Curative, such as drugs that can completely eliminate the pathogen that causes the disease from its host.
And it is for those reasons that vaccines are vital to global health.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “As the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, humanity’s victory over smallpox is a reminder of what is possible when nations come together to fight a common health threat.”
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