William Foege, who sadly died this week, is one of the reasons why this map ends in the 1970s.
The physician and epidemiologist is best known for his pivotal role in the global strategy to eradicate smallpox, a horrific disease estimated to have killed 300 million people.
Despite the world having an effective vaccine for more than a century, smallpox was still widespread across many parts of Africa and Asia in the mid-20th century.
Foege played a crucial role in developing the “ring vaccination strategy”, which focused on vaccinating people around each identified case, rather than attempting a population-wide vaccination strategy, which was difficult in countries with limited resources.
This strategy, combined with increased global funding efforts and support for local health programs, paved the way: country after country declared itself free of smallpox. You can see this drop-off through the decades in the map.
The disease was declared globally eradicated in 1980.
William Foege and his colleagues’ contributions are credited with saving millions, if not tens of millions of lives.