How a Pandemic Changed the World & How to Stop the Next One

The World Health Organisation hears about 3000 potential pathogen outbreaks each month. It follows up on 300 of them - and investigates 30. It only took the right one to turn everything upside down. Devi remembers the early days of the pandemic as news trickled out from Wuhan, and focuses on Senegal's surprising response to COVID-19.

Professor Devi Sridhar, Chair of Global Public Health at Edinburgh University, has risen to prominence as one of Britain’s most trusted commentators on COVID-19. Fresh from advising the Scottish and UK Governments, the WHO and UNICEF, the academic uses the timeline of the pandemic to shine a light on how science, politics, ethics and economics affect our health.

Written and read by Devi Sridhar
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie Show less