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Eradication book cover

Eradication

Ridding the World of Diseases Forever?

Nancy Leys Stepan

Explore the controversial issue of disease eradication with this deeply researched and thought-provoking history book. From the origins of the idea in the early twentieth century to current campaigns against polio, Guinea worm disease, and now malaria, the author delves into both the benefits and drawbacks of single-minded efforts to rid the world of particular diseases. You'll follow the story of Dr. Fred Lowe Soper, an U.S.-trained doctor who became the arch-eradicationist of his time, as well as the roles of international health agencies such as the Rockefeller Foundation and the World Health Organization. Find out why critics argue that huge resources needed to achieve eradication could be better allocated toward developing primary health services and general improvement in health, and how the ideal of eradication has repeatedly arisen despite setbacks. The book concludes with a powerful argument for how eradication and primary health care can form mutually reinforcing policies to improve the health and well-being of populations, especially the poorest and most disease-burdened populations of the world.
Publish Date
2011-09-29T00:00:00.000Z
2011-09-29T00:00:00.000Z
Goodreads Rating
3.68
ISBN
9780801456848
Recommendations
1
Recommendations
A useful history of efforts to eliminate diseases.      source