Smallpox Eradication Commemoration 2010 Secretariat
Our Mission 
The purpose of the SEC2010 Secretariat is to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the global eradication of smallpox during 2010 and to create worldwide recognition of this unprecedented public health achievement.
The SEC2010 group set out to raise funds for three projects:
1) the commissioning of a bronze monument on the grounds of the World Health organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland,
2) the publication of an illustrated history of smallpox and its eradication, and
3) an international symposium examining the legacy of eradication.
PROJECT ONE: Commissioning a Bronze Monument
On May 17th, 2010 the World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled the SEC2010 bronze grouping in commemoration of the global eradication of smallpox.
To view information about the monument unveiling and celebration, click here.
May 17, 2010 marked the first day of this year's World Health Assembly. At 1800 hours at the end of the first day's deliberations, the WHO Director General, Dr. Margaret Chan, will unveil the bronze grouping in a short ceremony. The grouping is being placed opposite the WHO headquarters' main entrance.
The bronze grouping, funded by many SEC2010 donors, symbolizes the coming together of peoples from all nations to solve a major health scourge that plagued the human family since the beginning of recorded history. Together, the peoples of the world achieved this unprecedented success of eradicating smallpox. It also highlights the "bifurcated needle" developed by a Wyeth Laboratory scientist. The needle was a new and simple tool that was used to effectively vaccinate millions of people during the last years of the global eradication campaign.
The design, sculptures, and fabrication of the bronze memorial is by Martin Williams Sculputural Design, Swansea, Wales, U.K. The selection was made through an international design competition in early 2009. The depiction included here is an early rendering of the proposed bronze grouping.
Major Support for the Bronze Monument was Received from the Following Groups:
The Marguerite Casey Foundation; China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (SINOPHARM); The Google.org Fund of the Tides Foundation; GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals; The Monica and Hermen Greenberg Foundation; the Katz Family Foundation; The Rockefeller Foundation (plaques); Serum Institute of India Ltd.; Tianyuan Bio-pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; and Wyeth/Lederle Vaccines.
Individual donations came from: I. Arita; J. & V. Breman; L. Brilliant; J. Copland; A. Deria; J. & B. Drescher; P. Drotman and C. Arakaki; K. Eckstrom; W. & T. Emmet; J. Esposito; V. Fedenev; P. Fine & V. Beral; D. Francis; J. Friedman; R. Greenberg; M. Guinan; D. & N. Henderson; R. & I. Henderson; D. Heymann; P. Imperato; R. Jackson; Z. Jezel; S. Jones; R. Keenlyside; L. Khodakevich; S. Lamm; H. McGee; H. Miner; W. & J. Mitchell; S. & N. Music; D. & C. Olsen; V. Radke; G. & W. Robbins; M. Robbins; A. & E. Rosenbloom; J & B Roy; E. Shafa; D. Tarantola; B. Weniger; and numerous anonymous donors.
PROJECT TWO: Commissioning a graphic novel entitled "Smallpox Zero, an Illustrated History of Smallpox and its Eradication"
With support from sanofi pasteur, Vestergaard Frandsen, and others, the 80-page graphic novel was printed in April in Singapore by the Umlando Wezithombe, African Comic Production House, Johannesburg, South Africa. It will be distributed widely during 2010.
The book is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of national and international health workers from more than 70 countries, and to the scientists, manufacturers, policy makers, and funders who made smallpox eradication possible. They worked tirelessly to eradicate in little more than 10 years humanity's greatest scourge.
Copies will be available at the unveiling ceremony in Geneva on May 17th, 2010, with the illustrator/author present to sign copies. Groups and individual donors will receive their copies in early June 2010.
PROJECT THREE: Organizing an International Symposium
The symposium, entitled "Smallpox Eradication After 30 Years; Lessons, Legacies, and Innovations," took place 24-27 August, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
To learn more about the symposium and to review the agenda, go to Rio Symposium. To access the symposium via a video stream, go here.
To read a statement regarding the symposium, click here. To see pictures of symposium participants, click here and here.
Principal Funders for the International Symposium include: The Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Emory Global Health Institute, The Fogarty International Center, the NIH, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Google.org Fund of the Tides Foundation, NIH (NIAID), The Rockefeller Foundation, The U.N. Foundation, The Wellcome Trust Center for the History of Medicine, and selected individual donors.
SMALLPOX ERADICATION - An Unprecendented Achievement
The eradication of a disease for which there was no cure, a disease that had killed more people than all the wars in history, was probably the most ambitious disease control effort in the history of medicine undertaken by the World Health Organization. Smallpox, considered to be too insidious to eradicate, was boldly defeated. Its eradication is an outstanding example of what can be accomplished by mankind when nations work together toward a common goal. The success of the eradication program serves as a reminder to us all that international cooperation is invaluable for battling and solving common problems.
About Smallpox Eradication
The Smallpox Eradication Program is properly ascribed as having heroic dimensions. It began with the adoption of Resolution WHA 11.54 presented by the Soviet Union to the Eleventh World Health Assembly in 1958. In 1966, the program began in earnest when smallpox was raging throughout parts of South America, Asia, and Africa. A disease that plagued mankind for thousands of years and killed millions took exactly 10 years, nine months, and 26 days to defeat after the world decided to eradicate it. The world's last case occurred on 26 October 1977.
Hundreds of thousands of health workers faced enormous personal and logistical challenges. They faced wars, typhoons, and highly mobile populations to reach populations in the most remote mountains, deserts, and plains. These workers, highly motivated by a clear and focused goal, achieved what most skeptics thought impossible.
Today, we salute the World Health Organization's bold decisions and the political fortitude to propose, implement, and successfully complete a major public health program. The very fact that the world no longer supports or needs a Smallpox Eradication Program at the WHO is in itself the best testament to a most unique and unprecedented human achievement -- the eradication of smallpox.
The global Smallpox Eradication Program left a rich scientific and technical endowment. Significant advances made in epidemiology, laboratory science, and in logistics and management of public health have influenced disease control programs ever since. It also made a difference in people's lives. Millions of people were saved from the ravages of the disease and hundreds of thousands of local, national, and international public health workers gained experience and confidence from having participated in the program.
About SEC2010
SEC2010 (The Smallpox Eradication Commemoration 2010 group) is a volunteer effort supported by former smallpox eradication workers from around the world. SEC2010 is sponsoring three projects for which it has mobilized resources: 1) installation of a bronze memorial on the grounds of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland on 17 May 2010; 2) publication of an illustrated history of smallpox and its eradication that will be distributed during the latter part of 2010 around the world; and 3) an international symposiusm on eradication of infectious disease in Rio de Janeiro to be held August 24-27, 2010. All three projects commemorate the eradication of smallpox and celebrate its legacy. The SEC2010 Steering Committee is chaired by David L. Heymann, MD, with assistance from three sub-committees: 1) Smallpox Eradication Monument, chaired by Stephen Jones, MD; 2) SEC2010 fundraising, chaired by Peter Carrasco; and 3) International Symposium, jointly chaired by Joel Breman, MD, and Ciro de Quadros, MD. With support from the Google.org Fund of the Tides Foundation, a secretariat for SEC2010 is operational and directed by Jean Roy. The SEC2010 Secretariat is hosted by the Emory Global Health Institute (Jeff Koplan, Director) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Background
The year 2010 will mark the 30th anniversary since the Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication officially reported the elimination of smallpox disease. This unprecedented and lasting achievement of nations working together to benefit the world's people will be recognized at the 63rd WHA in May 2010, where Ministers of Health from the world's nations will gather to review the state of the world's health. The WHO, which organizes the annual WHA, will commemorate the historic achievement of smallpox eradication in a formal ceremony recognizing health workers worldwide. The WHO will also unveil a monument representing this public health success. The monument will be placed at the entrance of the WHO headquarters in Geneva to inspire and motivate others to work toward future disease control successes through global cooperation. The complete history of the global effort to eradicate smallpox is documented in: Fenner F, Henderson DA, Arita I, Jezek Z, Ladnyi ID, eds. Smallpox and its Eradication. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1988, 1460 pages. The entire textbook with links to individual chapters is available online here.
SEC2010 Bulletins
Bulletin 31
Bulletin 30
Bulletin 29
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Bulletin 1
Press Releases
Announcement of SEC2010 Launch
SEC2010 Commemoration
To learn more about smallpox and its eradication, go to:
http://globalhealthchronicles.org/smallpox
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