The Blueprint for Pandemic Response with Prof Christian Happi

Public health failures are rarely caused by missing science. They are caused by missing systems.

In this episode of Connecting The Dots, we sit down with Prof. Christian Happi, a global leader in genomic surveillance and infectious disease research. His work has helped countries detect and respond to Lassa fever, Mpox, Marburg virus, Ebola, and COVID through faster pathogen sequencing and early outbreak detection.

We break down how genomic sequencing transforms outbreak response, from rapid detection to smarter public health decisions. What is the difference between an outbreak, an epidemic, and a pandemic? Why does early detection determine whether a health threat stays local or becomes global?

We also examine key lessons from Ebola and COVID, including:

• Why trusting local African scientists improves response time

• Why pandemic preparedness must happen before crisis

• How sustained public investment in research systems matters more than emergency funding

• What governments get right and wrong when science matters most

The conversation traces the evolution of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases into the Institute of Genomics and Global Health, now expanding genomic research beyond infectious diseases into cancer, cardiovascular disease, and precision medicine.

This episode explores pandemic preparedness, genomic science, public health governance, and the role of African research leadership in global health security. If you care about outbreak detection, infectious disease surveillance, health systems strengthening, or science policy in Africa, this conversation is essential.

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