Timeline of global health

This page is a timeline of global health, including major conferences, interventions, cures, and crises.

Big picture

Time period	Key developments
1500s–1600s	European countries begin traveling to and colonizing regions of the world including the Americas, Africa, India, and China. This contributes to the spread of various infectious diseases.[1]
1816–1899	Six global cholera pandemics happen in this period due to increased commerce and migration. These pandemics (as well as others) inspire modern health regulations, beginning with the International Sanitary Conferences.[2]^:125 The germ theory of diseases also begins to become accepted and popularized starting around 1850.[3]
1920s–1930s	Antitoxins and vaccines for numerous diseases including cholera and tuberculosis are developed during this period, building on a trend of greater understanding of and control over microorganisms.[4]
1945–1950	Following the end of World War II, several organizations, including the United Nations and World Health Organization (WHO), form.[2]
1970s	Greater dissatisfaction with WHO for its focus on disease/infection control at the expense of trying to improve general living conditions, as well as disappointment at its low budget and staffing. This atmosphere spurs other organizations to provide their own forms of aid.[2]^:126[1]^:6
1990s–2000s	HIV/AIDS becomes the focus of many governmental and non-governmental organizations.[1]^:6
2000s and beyond	WHO's Millennium Development Goals establishes health care as an important goal (not just combating infectious diseases).[1]^:7

Full timeline

Year	Event type	Event	Disease name	Geographic location
1851	Organization	First of the International Sanitary Conferences held in Paris.[2]		France
1854	Crisis	Broad Street cholera outbreak central to the development of modern epidemiology.[5]	Cholera	England
1855	Crisis	Third plague pandemic begins.[5] This pandemic kills 12 million people.	Bubonic plague	China (origin)
1863	Organization	International Committee of the Red Cross, a private humanitarian institution, is founded by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier.[6]		Switzerland (in Geneva)
1880	Discovery	Microorganisms responsible for malaria identified.[5]	Malaria
1882	Discovery	Microorganisms responsible for tuberculosis identified.[5]	Tuberculosis
1893		The International List of Causes of Death, a predecessor to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, is adopted.[5]
1902	Organization	Pan American Health Organization established as the Pan-American Sanitary Bureau in response to yellow fever epidemics.[2][5]	Yellow fever (originally)
1907	Organization	Office International d'Hygiène Publique (OIHP) founded. The OIHP helped to refine quarantine policies.[2]		France
1913	Organization	Rockefeller Foundation founded.[5]
1918	Crisis	1918 flu pandemic (Spanish flu)	Influenza	France (origin, possibly disputed)
1922	Organization	League of Nations Health Committee and Health Section established.[7]
1927	Discovery	BCG vaccine for tuberculosis developed.[5]	Tuberculosis
1928	Discovery	Penicillin (an antibiotic) discovered by Alexander Fleming.[5]
1943	Organization	United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration founded for relief of victims of war.[8]
1945	Organization	The World Bank Group formed.[5]
1946	Organization	UNICEF founded.[5]
1946	Organization	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is founded initially as the Communicable Diseases Center.[5]	Malaria (initially)	United States (Atlanta, Georgia)
1947	Crisis	A cholera epidemic takes 20,000 lives in Egypt in 1947 and 1948; this helps spur the international community to action.[9]	Cholera	Egypt
1948	Organization	World Health Organization established.[5]
1950	Medical advancement	Mass tuberculosis immunization under way with BCG vaccine[10]	Tuberculosis
1952	Program launch	Global yaws control program launched by WHO and UNICEF.[10]	Yaws
1952	Crisis	Polio epidemic in the United States	Polio	United States
1955	Program launch	Malaria Eradication Programme launched by WHO.[10]	Malaria
1955	Medical advancement	First inactivated polio vaccine announced by Jonah Salk.[5]	Polio
1958	Program launch	Smallpox eradication program launched by World Health Assembly.[10]	Smallpox
1961	Organization	United States Agency for International Development forms.[5]		United States
1963	Medical advancement	Oral polio vaccine licensed.[10]	Polio
1965	Organization	International Agency for Research on Cancer established	Cancer
1971	Organization	Doctors Without Borders founded.[5]
1974	Program launch	Onchocerciasis Control Programme launched by WHO and others.[10]	Onchocerciasis
1976	Discovery	Ebola virus first identified.[10]	Ebola	Democratic Republic of the Congo
1977	Publication	WHO Model List of Essential Medicines first published.[5]
1978	Publication	Alma Ata Declaration established.[11] The Declaration promoted health as a human right.[5]		Kazakhstan
1979	Medical advancement	Eradication of smallpox (last naturally occurring case recorded).[5]	Smallpox
1986	Program launch	Global Programme on AIDS launched by WHO.[10]	HIV/AIDS
1988	Program launch	Global Polio Eradication Initiative established by WHO and others.[10]	Polio
1990	Program launch	Global Burden of Disease Study commissioned by the World Bank.[5]
1993	Publication	Disease Control Priorities first edition (DCP1) published[12]
1993	Publication	1993 World Development Report published. This report "changed the terms of discourse in international health development" by prioritizing health problems with a large disease burden for which cost-effective interventions were available.[13]
1995	Program launch	International Commission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication established by WHO.[10]
1995	Program launch	DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-Course) strategy for tuberculosis launched.[10]	Tuberculosis
1996	Organization	Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS established.[10]	HIV/AIDS
2000	Program launch	Stop TB Partnership launched.[10]	Tuberculosis
2000	Organization	Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network launched.[10]
2000	Organization	Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation founded
2000	Publication	Millennium Development Goals established. At a United Nations Summit in 2000, member nations declare eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which reflected the major challenges facing human development globally, to be achieved by 2015.[14] The declaration was matched by unprecedented global investment by donor and recipient countries. According to the UN, these MDGs provided an important framework for development and significant progress has been made in a number of areas.[15][16] However, progress has been uneven and some of the MDGs were not fully realized including maternal, newborn and child health and reproductive health.[15]
2000	Program launch	GAVI Alliance forms to promote the use of vaccines.[5]
2001	Program launch	Measles Initiative launched.[10]	Measles
2002	Organization	The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria founded.[5]	HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria
2002	Program launch	First World report on violence and health launched.[10]
2003	Program launch	3 by 5 Initiative launched.[10]	HIV/AIDS
2003		WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control adopted.[5]
2003	Crisis	Severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak[10]	SARS	China (but spread to multiple countries)
2003	Program launch	Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health created.[10]
2003	Program launch	President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) launched.[5]	HIV/AIDS	United States (targeting Africa)
2004		Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health adopted.[10]
2005	Program launch	Commission on Social Determinants of Health launched.[10]
2005	Program launch	Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health launched.[10]
2006	Publication	Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries (DCP2) published[17]
2007	Organization	GiveWell, a charity evaluator, is founded. GiveWell has investigated the effectiveness of numerous charities in global health and has reviewed reports including those published by the Disease Control Priorities Project.[18] A spinoff known as the Open Philanthropy Project begins as GiveWell Labs in 2011.		United States
2013	Crisis	West African Ebola virus epidemic	Ebola
2015		Building on the MDGs, a new Sustainable Development Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been established for the years 2016-2030.[15] The first goal being an ambitious and historic pledge to end poverty.[19]
2015	Publication	Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is adopted by the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly. On 25 September 2015, the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly adopt the 2030 Development Agenda titled Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.[19]
2015	Publication	To Save Humanity published. The book contains nearly 100 essays regarding today's most pressing global health issues.[20] The essays are authored by global figures in politics, science, and advocacy ranging from Bill Clinton to Peter Piot, and address a wide range of issues including vaccinations, antimicrobial resistance, health coverage, tobacco use, research methodology, climate change, equity, access to medicine, and media coverage of health research.

See also

• List of diseases eliminated from the United States
• Timeline of cholera
• Timeline of malaria
• Timeline of deworming

References

1. M. A. Palilonis. "An Introduction to Global Health and Global Health Ethics: A Brief History of Global Health" (PDF). Retrieved April 13, 2016.
2. Markel, Howard (January 7, 2014). "Worldly approaches to global health: 1851 to the present" (PDF). Retrieved April 5, 2016.
3. "Germ Theory". Harvard. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
4. "All Timelines Overview - History of Vaccines". The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
5. "Global Health Timeline". Retrieved April 8, 2016.
6. "Nobel Laureates Facts — Organizations". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
7. "Archives of the League of Nations, Health Section Files". World Health Organization. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
8. "Agreement for United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration". Ibiblio.org.
9. World Health Organization. "History of WHO". Archived from the original on 2006-12-07.
10. "WHO in 60 years: a chronology of public health milestones" (PDF). World Health Organization. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
11. Primary Health Care: Report of the International Conference on Primary Health Care (PDF) (Report). Geneva: World Health Organization. 1978.
12. "About the Project". Retrieved March 30, 2016.
13. Michael R. Reich. "Reviewed Work: World Development Report 1993: Investing in Health by World Bank". The University of Chicago Press.
14. "Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, 55/2" (PDF). United Nations. 18 September 2000.
15. "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform". sustainabledevelopment.un.org. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
16. "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform". sustainabledevelopment.un.org. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
17. "DCP2". Retrieved March 30, 2016.
18. Karnofsky, Holden (2011-11-04). "Some Considerations Against More Investment in Cost-Effectiveness Estimates". GiveWell. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
19. "Sustainable Development Goals". UNDP. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
20. S.J. Hoffman. 2011. “Ending Medical Complicity in State-Sponsored Torture,” The Lancet 378(9802): 1535-1537. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60816-7.