US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• The CDC spearheaded the global movement to eradicate guinea worm with a decade-long advocacy campaign begun in 1981. The CDC thereafter collaborated with a partnership of international donors that has succeeded in reducing guinea worm prevalence by 99 percent. Since the start of the campaign in 1986, the number of cases has fallen from 3.5 million to less than 35,000.
• The CDC provided funding for the measles vaccination initiatives in southern Africa, to supplement the resources provided by the region’s ministries of health. The number of measles cases was reduced from 60,000 in 1996 to just 117 four years later; the number of measles deaths fell from 166 to zero.
• The CDC played a central role in the global smallpox eradication effort, providing technical and financial support, and offering crucial momentum and support when the program was revived in the mid 1960s. Under the leadership of Dr. D.A. Henderson, the CDC contributed staff, equipment and technical expertise to programs in western and central Africa. Smallpox was eradicated in 1977.

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