Change Is Possible Reflections on the History of Global Health

A groundbreaking new history of global health from one of the greatest leaders in the field.

In Change Is Possible, public health legend William H. Foege and five coauthors chronicle the failures and successes of global health through the modern age, including the massive impacts of colonialism, religious groups, philanthropies, politics, NGOs, and more.

Foege, who has served in local, national, and international public health contexts―including as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention―is uniquely qualified to reflect on the history of global health. He and his Rollins School of Public Health coauthors explain why colonialism has been the greatest disaster for global health, whereas military medicine may have been its greatest asset. From the rapid development of NGOs to the impact of pharmaceutical companies over the last 35 years to the hybrid programs that are now responsible for innovative contributions, the authors discuss multiple impacts on global health.

In chapters with coauthors Paul Elish, Alison T. Hoover, Madison Gabriella Lee, Deborah Chen Tseng, and Kiera Chan, Foege explores additional essential topics such as the legacy of colonialism in global health, early philanthropy versus new philanthropy, and how to promote positive change. Foege also shares critical lessons from the smallpox campaign―a disease he helped eradicate―and how these historical lessons can be applied in global health work today.

The book's research and reflections make this an essential book for students and readers interested in global health. In a narrative that is both deeply personal and universal, Foege shares lessons learned and personal experiences that craft a strikingly new history of global health.

William H. Foege is the emeritus presidential distinguished professor of international health at Emory University. He was a director of the Centers for Disease Control, the founding director of the Carter Presidential Center, and a cofounder of the Task Force for Child Survival (now the Task Force for Global Health). He was also an early consultant to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He is the author of House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox; The Fears of the Rich, the Needs of the Poor: My Years at the CDC; The Task Force for Child Survival: Secrets of Successful Coalitions; and a coauthor of Change Is Possible: Reflections on the History of Global Health. In 2012, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Paul Elish, MPH, is currently pursuing a PhD in International Health at Johns Hopkins University. He holds an MPH in Global Epidemiology from Emory University and most recently worked in international respiratory virus surveillance strengthening at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His prior work experience spans the academic, private, and nonprofit sectors, with a primary focus on public health issues in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the United States.

Alison T. Hoover, MPH, is a researcher at Emory University focusing on gender, reproductive and sexual health, and bioethics. Prior to Emory, she worked as a communications consultant in Vietnam and a program evaluator in Mexico and Bolivia. She was named a 120 Under 40 global leader in family planning by the William H. Gates Sr. Institute for Population and Reproductive Health in 2019.

Madison Gabriella Lee, MPH, is a research environmental scientist. Her research is focused on assessing exposure to chemical contaminants and has appeared in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. She is an alumna of North Carolina State University and the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Deborah Chen Tseng, MPH, is a current Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellow with CDC-INFO at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She previously worked in Appalachian Kentucky with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and staff in the areas of health education and health promotion.