Elimination Initiative Committed to eliminating 30+ communicable diseases in the Americas by 2030

Abstract

The Pan American Health Organization´s initiative to eliminate communicable diseases, known as the Elimination Initiative (EI), aims to eradicate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions across the Americas by 2030. The EI spans a wide range of diseases including vaccine preventable, neglected infectious, vector-borne, sexually transmitted, mother-to-child transmitted, and zoonotic diseases, as well as tuberculosis, cervical cancer, and environmental risk factors (open defecation and polluting fuels in the household). The purpose of the EI is not just to eliminate and sustain the elimination targets, but to save and improve the quality of people’s lives through guaranteeing equitable access to integrated health services, addressing mechanisms of vulnerability and social and environmental determinants of health, and empowering communities.