RECAST: Philosophy of Public Health with William Foege, MD, MPH

The Whole Health Cure

William H. Foege, MD, MPH is the Emeritus Presidential Distinguished Professor of International Health at Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University and the Gates Fellow at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is an epidemiologist who worked in the successful campaign to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s. Dr. Foege became Chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Smallpox Eradication Program, and was appointed director of CDC in 1977.

In 1984, Foege and several colleagues formed the Task Force for Child Survival and Development, a working group for the World Health Organization, UNICEF, The World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Its success in accelerating childhood immunization led to an expansion of its mandate in 1991 to include other issues that diminish the quality of life for children.

Dr. Foege joined The Carter Center in 1986 as its Executive Director, Fellow for Health Policy and Executive Director of Global 2000. In 1992, he resigned as Executive Director of The Carter Center, but continued in his role as a Fellow and as Executive Director of the Task Force for Child Survival and Development. In 1997, he joined the faculty of Emory University, where he is Presidential Distinguished Professor of International Health at the Rollins School of Public Health. In 1999, Dr. Foege became a Senior Medical Advisor for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In 1999, Dr. Foege resigned as Executive Director of the Task Force for Child Survival and Development, and in 2001, he retired from both Emory University and the Gates Foundation. However, he remains active in both organizations as Emeritus Presidential Distinguished Professor of International Health and as a Gates Fellow.