Progress towards global elimination of lymphatic filariasis

In response to the burden of lymphatic filariasis—which was considered to be the second leading cause of permanent and long-term disability1—WHO committed to eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem at the 50th World Health Assembly, in 1997. The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) was therefore created and launched its activities in 2000, with the core mission to coordinate control efforts to reach elimination of lymphatic filariasis by 2020. The GPELF proposed a comprehensive elimination strategy, including transmission interruption in endemic communities (by use of mass drug administration [MDA]) and implementation of interventions to prevent and manage lymphatic filariasis-associated disabilities (the so-called morbidity management and disability prevention [MMDP] strategy).