When the decade began, explains Director-General Margaret Chan of the United Nations agency, the new concept of disease eradication had just led to the initiation of a wave of programs, most visible that against smallpox; by the end, the ancient scourge was gone from the face of the earth. Also by the end, plans had progressed so far that the first international conference on primary health care, in Alma-Ata, was just a year in the future. The chapters review such aspects as governing bodies, general program development, promoting and developing research, family health, the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, environmental health, and health and biomedical information. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)