The World Health Assembly declares smallpox eradicated
Following two years of certification work by a global commission, the Thirty-third World Health Assembly declares that smallpox has been eradicated worldwide. It remains the only human disease ever deliberately driven to extinction, and the clearest single demonstration that a cause of death can be removed permanently rather than postponed.
Historical — it happened, and the record is settled.
Subjects
- World Health Organization · institution · Switzerland
- Vaccination · technology · Global · not located
Evidence
Partly verified — Core facts are sourced; some optional detail is deliberately absent.
The Global Eradication of Smallpox: Final Report of the Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication
Supports the eradication of smallpox, its declaration date and the identification of the last naturally acquired case at Marka, Somalia, in October 1977. V55 verification basis: neither the report nor the resolution text was retrieved in this session.
World Health Organization, Geneva · 1980 · Partly verified
WHO Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication, final report, Geneva 1980; declaration by World Health Assembly resolution WHA33.3, 8 May 1980
Recorded on World Health Organization
- The last naturally acquired smallpox case begins, at Marka
- The World Health Assembly declares smallpox eradicated
Related
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