5 years on from Covid: Lessons from history

Five years after COVID-19 changed the world, new infectious threats continue to dominate headlines while long-standing diseases like malaria and tuberculosis continue to present significant challenges.

 As a part of History Week, this interdisciplinary roundtable will explore lessons from past health crises and discuss how we can better prepare for and respond to both current and future global health threats.

This is an opportunity to gain valuable insights into the future of global health – reserve your spot today and join the conversation!

The panel is made up of eight of the brightest minds in health and includes:

• Edward Holmes, Professor of Virology, University of Sydney, and NHMRC Leadership Fellow

• Claire Hooker, Associate Professor in Health and Medical Humanities, University of Sydney, and President of the Arts Health Network NSW/ACT

• Julie Leask, Professor of Public Health, University of Sydney, and Visiting Professorial Fellow, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance

• Brent Mackie, Director Policy, Strategy and Research at ACON

• Bernadette Saunders, Associate Professor in Life Sciences (Cellular Immunology) and Tuberculosis & Respiratory Diseases Group Head, University of Technology Sydney

• Susana Vaz Nery, Professor at Kirby Institute UNSW, and Neglected Tropical Diseases research group lead

• Jane Williams, Research Fellow (public health ethics), University of Wollongong

• Facilitator Philippa Nicole Barr, ANU and Western Sydney University

While the public responses to prescient threats like COVID-19, Zika, and monkey pox capture immediate attention and resources, endemic diseases with substantial global health impact often do not incite a similar emotional urgency. Specific, acute crises may evoke stronger responses than statistical, chronic threats.

Notwithstanding their long histories and high mortality rates, infectious diseases such as TB, HIV and malaria often lack the attention given to diseases like COVID-19, reducing their visibility and the urgency of interventions. At the same time, a transforming climate may impact the spread and distribution of both novel and endemic diseases, producing new circumstances of response.

This interdisciplinary roundtable, part of History Week and run by History Council NSW, will explore how we can think about lessons learned from historically important diseases to create more effective and adaptive strategies for present and future health crises.

Our event is supported by the Australia New Zealand Society for the History of Medicine (NSW) and the Australian Health and Medical Humanities Network. Our event venue partner is the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (SMSA).