Sustaining communicable disease elimination efforts in the Americas in the wake of COVID-19

Abstract

Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted implementation of health interventions and set back priority programs aiming to control and eliminate communicable diseases. At the same time, the pandemic has opened up opportunities to expedite innovations in health service delivery to increase effectiveness and position health on the development and political agendas of leaders and policy makers. In this context, we present an integrated, sustainable approach to accelerate elimination of more than 35 communicable diseases and related conditions in the region of the Americas. The Elimination Initiative promotes a life-course, person-centred approach based on four dimensions - preventing new infections, ending mortality and morbidity, and preventing disability - and four critical lines of action including strengthening health systems integration and service delivery, strengthening health surveillance and information systems, addressing environmental and social determinants of health, and furthering governance, stewardship, and finance. We present key actions and operational considerations according to each line of action that countries can take advantage of to further advance disease elimination in the region.

Keywords

• Health policy
• Communicable disease elimination
• COVID-19
• Health systems
• Health services
• Priority programs