Smallpox
Officially declared eradicated in 1979 after a global vaccination program. The last known natural case was in Somalia in 1977.
Polio
Cases have fallen by more than 99 percent since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 to 1,349 in 2010. Last year, it remained endemic only in parts of Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Tuberculosis
While mortality rates have fallen by a third since 1990, there were 8.8 million cases and 1.45 million deaths in 2010. The Stop TB Partnership aims to eliminate the disease by 2050.
Malaria
About 216 million cases and 655,000 deaths in 2010. Mortality rates have fallen by more than 25 percent globally since 2000. In Africa, the disease accounts for 22 percent of all childhood deaths.
HIV/AIDS
HIV has claimed more than 25 million lives over the past 30 years, but new infections declined by 17 percent between 2001 and 2009. Increased access to HIV services resulted in a 15 percent reduction of new infections over the past decade and a 22 percent drop in AIDS-related deaths in the past five years.
Source: The WHO, Stop TB Partnership, Roll Back Malaria Partnership, UNAIDS
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