Overview

The dream of a world completely free of disease may seem utopian. Yet eradication, used in its modern sense to mean the reduction of a disease to zeroby means of purposeful public health interventions, has been pursued repeatedly. Campaigns against yellow fever, malaria, smallpox and polio areamong the largest, most costly programmes ever undertaken in internationalpublic health. Only one so far has been successful against smallpox in 1980, though eradication campaigns against polio and Guinea Worm Disease are ongoing. Are such programmes, then, worthwhile? Does setting an absolute goal help focus efforts in the health field; or does such a project lead almost inevitably to disappointment? This book surveys the history of eradication, covering all the major eradication campaigns and bringing the story up to date.

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9781861898616

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Reviews

'It would be difficult to overestimate the value of Nancy Leys Stepan's Eradication: Ridding the World of Disease. The book should be required reading for anyone interested in global health past or present. Clearly written and persuasively argued, Stepan provides not just a significant account of the history of eradication, but also deeper insight into the history of international health institutions, imperial and Cold War politics, medical funding and philanthropies, and the globalization of biomedicine.' - Helen Tilley, historian of medicine and author of Africa as a Living Laboratory: Empire, Development, and the Problem of Scientific Knowledge, 1870-1950 'It is very important finally to have a history of eradication, especially one of such quality and comprehensiveness that considers local, national, and international experiences. Nancy Leys Stepan is a celebrated scholar who has conducted pathbreaking research on malaria, yellow fever, and smallpox. To eradicate or not to eradicate has been and continues to be an issue of central concern in global health. Stepan's history forces us to ask, is it politically wise and socially useful and just to eradicate disease and, if so, what conditions and past experiences must we take into account in deciding which diseases to tackle?' - Steven Palmer, Canada Research Chair in History of International Health, University of Windsor

Author Information

Nancy Leys Stepan is Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, New York. Her previous books include The Hour of Eugenics: Race, Gender and Nation (1991) and Picturing Tropical Nature (Reaktion Books, 2002).

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