Validation of elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem

In 1997, the Fiftieth World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA50.29 on the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. Preliminary guidance from WHO printed in 2011 referred to “verification” as the official process by which the achievements of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) would be confirmed. For the sake of harmonization, the terminology now used for elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem is “validation”. In 2015, the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases endorsed standardized processes for confirming and acknowledging success for all neglected tropical diseases targeted for eradication, elimination of transmission, or elimination as a public health problem.