Chief, Polio Team in Pakistan
Melissa Corkum
Melissa Corkum is the Chief of Polio Team in Pakistan. She brings with her more than 20 years’ of experience in Polio eradication. Most recently, she held the position of Senior Manager for Polio Outbreak Response in UNICEF, co-leading the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Outbreak Response and Preparedness Group. In this capacity, she has helped close polio outbreaks in over 40 countries in Africa and Asia.
Previously, between 2016 and 2019, Melissa was UNICEF’s Chief of Immunization and the Polio Team Lead in Afghanistan where she played a strategic leadership role in the Polio Emergency Operations Centre with the Government and WHO in strengthening partnerships and ensuring polio remains a national priority while maintaining the neutrality of polio eradication activities.
Prior to that, she led the UNICEF Polio Eradication team in Nigeria at a critical time from 2012 to 2016, when the country was ramping efforts in the final stages of eliminating the wild polio virus.
Previously, she worked in UNICEF’s Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa as a Communication for Development Specialist for Immunization.
Equally important, she served in the polio programme in Pakistan from 2006 to 2010 as UNICEF Pakistan's Programme Communications Specialist.
Before joining UNICEF, Melissa served in various capacities with the WHO polio eradication team, first as a polio communication specialist at the WHO Headquarters in Geneva and then as a Programme Manager of Communication & Advocacy with WHO in Nigeria.
Melissa hails from the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Canada. She has a master’s degree in International and Community Development from Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, and two additional degrees in Commerce and Economics (Mount Allison University) and Public Relations (Mount Saint Vincent University) in Canada. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, hiking, and exploring new cultures and countries.