William Foege


William Herbert Foege was an American physician and epidemiologist who is credited with "devising the global strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s". From May 1977 to 1983, Foege served as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Foege also "played a central role" in efforts that greatly increased immunization rates in developing countries in the 1980s.

Early life

Foege was born in Decorah, Iowa, on March 12, 1936. He was the third of six children born to William A. Foege, a Lutheran minister, and Anne Erika Foege. The family lived in Eldorado, Iowa, in Fayette County, starting in 1936 and moved to Chewelah, Washington, in 1945.
In his younger days he was inspired by the life of his uncle, a Lutheran missionary to New Guinea. He became interested in science at age 13 when working at a pharmacy, and read extensively about the world while in a body cast for several months at age 15. When he was a teenager, he expressed a desire to practice medicine in Africa.

Education

Foege received a B.A. from Pacific Lutheran University in 1957. He attended medical school at the University of Washington, where he became interested in public health while working "after school and on Saturdays" at the Seattle–King County Health Department. After receiving his M.D. in 1961, he completed an internship with the United States Public Health Service hospital at Staten Island in 1961–1962.
He participated in the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1962 and 1964, assigned to Colorado. When Foege was with the EIS, he was inspired by Alexander Langmuir to pursue global health, and spent a short time with the Peace Corps in India under Charles Snead Houston. Upon reading a lecture on priorities in public health by Thomas Huckle Weller, Foege entered the Master of Public Health program at the Harvard School of Public Health where he studied with Weller, and received his M.P.H. in 1965.

Smallpox eradication

While working as a medical missionary in Nigeria in 1966, Foege developed the highly successful surveillance and ring vaccination strategy to contain the spread of smallpox. In contrast to mass vaccinations which was the standard at the time, Foege's strategy focused on targeted vaccination of people exposed to cases of smallpox instead, ensuring that the limited resources available sufficed to eradicate outbreaks of smallpox in the country. This strategy became key to global eradication efforts against smallpox, with the condition later becoming the first infectious disease to be eradicated in human history in 1980. Foege also served as chief of the smallpox eradication program of the CDC.
For his efforts to eradicate smallpox, Foege was the co-winner of the 2020 Future of Life Award along with Viktor Zhdanov. "We're all indebted to Bill Foege and Viktor Zhdanov for their critical contributions to the eradication of smallpox, which demonstrated the immense value of science and international collaboration for fighting disease", said António Guterres, Secretary General, United Nations, quoted in a press release on the award. Dr. William MacAskill said, "Smallpox was one of the worst diseases to ever befall the human race, and its eradication is one of the greatest achievements of humanity. Bill Foege and Viktor Zhdanov should be celebrated for their contributions, and should inspire us today to take effective action to tackle the world's most pressing problems." In consideration of the achievements of Zhdanov and Foege, Bill Gates added, "They are phenomenal examples of what it means to harness science for global health".

Career

Foege's research includes child survival and development, injury prevention, population, preventive medicine, and public health leadership—particularly in the developing world. He was a strong proponent of disease eradication and control and took an active role in the eradication of Guinea Worm Disease, polio and measles, and the elimination of river blindness.
In May 1977, he became the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and served until 1983.
Directorship aside, he also held various positions during his career:
In June 2011, Foege authored House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox, a book on the triumph of modern science, medicine, and public health over smallpox.
On September 23, 2020, Foege sent a private letter to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert R. Redfield urging him to acknowledge in writing that the CDC had responded poorly to COVID-19 and to set a new course for how CDC would lead the United States' response, calling the White House's approach "disastrous".

Personal life and death

Foege and his wife Paula had three sons, the eldest of whom died in 2007. He has been described as a "religious man"; between 1997 and 2006 he served on the Board of Regents of Pacific Lutheran University.
Foege died from congestive heart failure in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 24, 2026, at the age of 89.

Awards and honors

Selected publications

Books and book chapters

  • Foege WH. "Foreword." In:
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Journal articles

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