Public Health Visionary Dr. William Foege Dies at 89
Dr. William Foege, the towering figure whose innovative strategies were instrumental in achieving one of humanity's greatest public health triumphs – the global eradication of smallpox – has passed away. The Task Force for Global Health, an organisation he co-founded, confirmed his death on Saturday in Atlanta. He was 89 years old.
A Giant in Public Health
Standing at an imposing 6-foot-7, Dr. Foege was a literal and figurative giant in the field of international health. A brilliant and calm medical doctor, he possessed a remarkable talent for devising effective strategies to combat infectious diseases. His career included serving as director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1977 to 1983, followed by significant leadership roles at The Carter Center and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Battle Against Smallpox
His most profound legacy, however, was forged in the fight against smallpox, a disease that for centuries killed roughly a third of those it infected and scarred survivors for life. By the 1960s, while working as a medical missionary in Nigeria, Foege faced a critical shortage of vaccine. This challenge led to his revolutionary "ring containment" strategy.
This method involved:
- Rapidly identifying individual smallpox cases.
- Vaccinating every person the infected individual might have contacted.
- Effectively creating a protective ring around each outbreak to halt transmission.
As Foege detailed in his 2011 book, "House on Fire," this approach was born of necessity but proved devastatingly effective. It became a cornerstone of the global campaign that saw the last natural case of smallpox in Somalia in 1977. The World Health Organization declared the disease eradicated in 1980.
Enduring Legacy and Accolades
Former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden paid tribute, stating, "If you look at the simple metric of who has saved the most lives, he is right up there with the pantheon. Smallpox eradication has prevented hundreds of millions of deaths."
Born on March 12, 1936, in Washington state, Foege's path to medicine began in a local drugstore at age 13. He earned his medical degree from the University of Washington and a master's in public health from Harvard.
His lifetime of service was recognised with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by President Barack Obama in 2012. Duke University President Richard Brodhead once hailed him as "the Father of Global Health."
Dr. Patrick O’Carroll, CEO of the Task Force for Global Health, said in a statement, "Bill Foege had an unflagging commitment to improving the health of people across the world, through powerful, purpose-driven coalitions applying the best science available. We try to honor that commitment in every one of our programs, every day."
