As concerns escalate about the deadly Ebola virus outbreak in Africa, we bring you the unique insights of Dr. Peter Piot, a renowned microbiologist who co-discovered the virus 50 years ago during the first recorded outbreak of the disease. His on-the-ground account of that crisis was provided to us in April before the current outbreak was declared, but it contains valuable historical perspective and shares lessons learned that he carried forward in his consequential career. “What I saw from the beginning is the most important thing is to listen to people and that you need to act fast to save lives, before you have the evidence you would like to have.”

He followed his contributions on Ebola by diving into the fight against HIV/AIDS, eventually reshaping global response in leadership roles at the World Health Organization and United Nations. As he shares with host Lindsey Smith, the learnings in that case were more pragmatic than scientific. “We had to redefine HIV/AIDS not as a medical problem but as an economic and security problem in order to get it on the political agenda.”

Tune in for a fascinating episode that takes you from the gritty frontlines of public health crises to the battles for funding and attention in the halls of power as Dr. Piot shares what it actually takes to move the world to respond effectively to health threats.

Mentioned in this episode:

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

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