Q&A: WHO’s New Director of Polio Eradication Discusses Leading the Program During a Pivotal Moment for Global Health

Experienced global health leader Chris Wolff was recently appointed Director of Polio Eradication at the World Health Organization (WHO). In the run up to World Polio Day on October 24, the UN Foundation’s Global Health team asked Chris what excites him most about his new role, what lies ahead for the program amidst an evolving global health landscape, and what it will take to achieve and sustain a polio-free world.

What drew you to the role of WHO Director of Polio Eradication, and what excites you most about stepping into this position?

In many ways, this feels like coming home. Earlier in my career, I spent more than a decade with WHO’s polio program. I supported field operations across South Asia and Africa, including in India, during its final push to stop wild poliovirus. I also helped coordinate the global surveillance network and WHO’s response to polio outbreaks. When India was certified polio-free, I saw what is possible when a country makes it their central aim to reach every child. That has stayed with me.

Since then, I’ve worked on strengthening routine immunization at the Gates Foundation. I come back to WHO with a clear conviction: polio eradication and routine immunization aren’t competing priorities. Each one strengthens the other.

What excites me most about this effort is the people. National program teams and frontline health workers are the true heroes of polio eradication. It is a real privilege to support them as we work to defeat this devastating disease.

Over almost four decades, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and its partners have helped countries make huge progress in protecting the world from polio, reducing the global incidence of this debilitating disease by 99.9%. What do you see as the essential aspects of cooperation that made this impact possible?

First, countries have been in the lead. We have a joint mission, but governments set the direction, and partners bring technical support and expertise.

Second, everyone has a clear role. Public health is a team sport. WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance each bring different strengths, but we’re all accountable for one shared, measurable goal.

Third, and this is unusual in global health, a civil society movement has been at the heart of polio eradication from the start. Rotary first set out the vision of a polio-free world in 1985. More than a million Rotarians have since given their time, money, and voices to the cause. They raise funds, push for political commitment and mobilize communities, and they’ve kept polio on leaders’ agendas when attention moved elsewhere.

Finally, it’s the health workers who walk house to house each month to reach every child.

Together, this work has averted an estimated 1.5 million deaths and prevented 20 million cases of paralysis.

What do you consider the greatest challenge in this current moment for global efforts to make progress against health threats such as polio? 

Our most immediate challenges are operational, and the hardest is reaching every child. Afghanistan is central to eradication. Wild poliovirus will keep circulating there until vaccinators can reach children consistently, going house to house. Pakistan has seen encouraging progress this year. Ending polio depends on sustained access, and on trust, and we are working to secure both.

Nigeria’s success in ending wild polio shows what is possible. But gaps in immunization coverage still leave children vulnerable to variant poliovirus. Closing those gaps, in Nigeria and elsewhere, means we need stronger routine immunization, and robust immunization campaigns that reach zero-dose children – children who have never received a single vaccine.

The challenges we face cannot be solved by technical work alone. They need steady political and financial commitment: leaders at every level who make polio a priority and stay engaged until the job is done.

These challenges also sit within a wider moment of change for global health. Funding is tighter, and countries and partners are rethinking how the global health system should work. I see this as an opportunity. Polio eradication can show what a more integrated, country-led approach looks like – to sustain a polio-free world and to strengthen broader health systems. Our tools, our workforce, and our surveillance systems already help countries respond to measles outbreaks and other health threats. If we get this right, finishing polio will leave health systems better prepared for whatever comes next.

What will it take to eradicate polio once and for all, and how optimistic are you that polio eradication can be achieved? 

We know what it takes. The priorities are clear: stop wild poliovirus in Afghanistan and Pakistan, end outbreaks of variant poliovirus as fast as possible, and make sure that the program is contributing to strengthened routine immunization, disease surveillance, and other areas to promote health security. Success depends on operational excellence and sustained political commitment.

I’m optimistic, and for good reason. Wild poliovirus types 2 and 3 have already been eradicated, and today wild poliovirus survives in small sub-national communities of just two countries. Throughout this effort, I’ve seen countries that many people doubted could be certified as polio-free achieve that goal.

On World Polio Day, I’ll be thinking of the health workers and the communities in areas with polio circulation who continue incredible efforts to protect their children and, of course, of all those in polio-free areas that worked so hard to bring the world to the brink of polio eradication. We owe it to them, and to every child, to finish the job and deliver a polio-free world.

Last updated: October 21, 2026