Harvard University Free Online Course Preventing the Next Pandemic
Understanding the context for the Ebola outbreak: What went right, what went wrong, and how we can all do better.
What you’ll learn
- What happened during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa?
- What were the local challenges faced by patients, clinicians, and national policy makers?
- Why did the international response fail to halt Ebola and prevent its spread?
- How do we prevent the next the pandemic?
Course description
Like no other event in recent history, the 2014 Ebola outbreak has made clear the fragility of existing health systems. While responding to the current epidemic is critical, we also have an opportunity to learn lessons to prevent the next global health catastrophe, forge partnerships across borders and disciplines, and demonstrate our commitment to value all human lives.
This four-week course provides the context in which to understand the Ebola outbreak — why now, and why did so many people suffer and die? The course lays out the global governance structure — what was the global response supposed to look like, and where did it fail?
The course will feature practitioners, experts, and scholars who will focus on cultivating a better understanding of the Ebola epidemic and implications for future health systems to ensure that the world is more effective in preventing the next pandemic.