In this episode, Katherine E. Bliss and J. Stephen Morrison speak with Dr. John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa CDC. The African continent has not seen the high Covid-19 caseload many feared at the beginning of the pandemic. We hear some reasons for this, what the lessons from Africa’s experience with HIV tell us about the steps needed to enable African countries to effectively control the pandemic, and how leadership from the continent is working with COVAX, pharmaceutical companies, and global partners to obtain the vaccines they need.

 

Dr. John Nkengasong currently serves as the first Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). He is a leading virologist with nearly 30 years of work experience in public health. He joined our other podcast, Coronavirus Crisis Update, in May last year.