Factsheet - Best Buys to Accelerate Disease Elimination in the Americas: Poluting fuels

The Disease Elimination Initiative, led by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), aims to accelerate progress toward the elimination of more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions as public health problems in the Region of the Americas. In this context, the Best Buys serve as a key technical tool to guide integrated, evidence-based, and cost-effective action.

Each Best Buy summarizes, on a single page per disease or condition, the recommended key interventions to achieve elimination targets, grounded in the best available scientific evidence and programmatic experience in the Region. Each sheet follows a common structure, which includes:

1. The impact goal, describing the desired public health outcome;

2. The elimination target, establishing the threshold to declare a disease eliminated according to specific definitions and procedures;

3. The programmatic targets, reflecting measurable operational objectives at national or subnational levels; and

4. The Best Buys, defined as prioritized, cost-effective, and adaptable interventions designed to generate tangible results towards elimination targets across diverse settings.

These documents are intended for decision-makers, program managers, technical teams, health workers, cooperation agencies, and donors. They support strategic planning, the design and implementation of integrated interventions, resource allocation, coordination across levels of the health system, and work among different sectors.

In addition, the Best Buys help identify synergies across intervention platforms, such as integrated service delivery, community-based prevention, or logistics systems, while maintaining a focus on the needs and realities of communities and populations, particularly those living in vulnerable situations. As practical, visual, and data-informed tools, they also enhance monitoring, advocacy, resource mobilization, and accountability efforts.

Together, the Best Buys strengthen countries’ capacities to advance disease elimination through a person-centered, results-driven, and sustainable approach.

Download the Best Buys to Accelerate Disease Elimination in the Americas - Package