Man is a social being.” Whatever people set out to accomplish requires teamwork. Every team does not work together efficiently or effectively. The vast team that came together to eradicate smallpox in India achieved both. KEY MEMBERS OF INDIA’S TEAM By 1973, smallpox eradication had become such a priority in India that the best possible people in India’s Ministry of Health were assigned to it. Such a statement may be fashionable, even diplomatic; in this case, it was also true. In addition, over six hundred high-level supervisory personnel were eventually deployed from the central and state governments as well as from medical colleges, hospitals, and even private industry. These were in addition to the tens of thousands involved at the state, district, and PHC levels actually doing the searches, vaccinations, and outbreak control. Some states, such as Andhra Pradesh, contributed over fifty supervisors to the task. The Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi provided ninety staff members.
