About this episode
Dr Seth Berkley discusses his career in global health and the challenges of vaccine distribution and scepticism.
Dr Seth Berkley is an epidemiologist and global health leader whose career has been shaped by one central problem: vaccines save lives, but only if people can actually get them. His 40-year career has spanned the global, from helping to build Uganda’s first HIV surveillance system and founding the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; to leading Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance for more than a decade – overseeing the immunisation of hundreds of millions of children worldwide. And when COVID-19 struck, Seth co-founded COVAX, the global initiative designed to stop wealthy nations monopolising vaccines. In conversation with Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Seth discusses the highs and lows of his globe-trotting career - from saving millions of young lives through vaccine distribution, to setting his own shattered leg after a climbing accident in Namibia - and addresses the huge challenge of tackling vaccine scepticism.
People in this episode
Host: Professor Jim Al-Khalili
Guest: Dr Seth Berkley
Topics covered
- vaccines
- global health
- epidemiology
- vaccine distribution
- vaccine scepticism
- HIV surveillance
- COVAX
Keywords
- vaccines
- global health
- epidemiologist
- COVAX
- HIV
- immunisation
- vaccine scepticism
- Gavi
- COVID-19
- vaccine distribution
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, COVAX
Places: Uganda
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