Women At Work: Professor Devi Sridhar Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh
Professor Devi Sridhar
Professor Devi Sridhar has become something of a media star due to her clear, unwavering, and knowledgeable voice, throughout the pandemic. Having quickly becoming a trusted and reliable source across the UK for her urgent and accurate opinions throughout the last 18 months she is frequently asked by national newspapers and TV programmes to comment on COVID and our pathway out of the crisis. We managed to catch a few minutes with the health expert who resides in Edinburgh.
Q. Though you are extremely prolific in the health industry, many of us wouldn't have heard of Professor Devi Sridhar until 2020, how did this all kick off for you?
A video of me speaking at the Hay Festival in Wales back in June 2018, resurfaced where I warned our biggest health challenges are interconnected. The largest "threat" to the UK population was someone in China who'd been infected from an animal that's received antibiotics to improve its growth, which has transferred to the farmer, which is transferred to the community and gets on a plane to the UK. What good is it for the UK just to be worried about what's happening here? It's about those interconnections across the world. So I think it's the underpinning of why governance matters, that actually our world is interconnected and, if you want to solve these problems, you can't do it with a "go it alone" approach.
Q. You now live and work in Edinburgh, but you were born in the US?
I was born in Miami, Florida, but even as a teenager, I could see that health was the definition of true wealth. I worked to secure a place in a bachelors and medical school programme at the University of Miami, which then led to the Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford at the age of 18. In 2014, I took up my role at the University of Edinburgh, where I have worked since.
Q. Did you find the move from Miami to Edinburgh quite the leap?
Of course, I miss the sun and hot weather from my Miami days, but I feel lucky to live in Edinburgh, which is a stunning and friendly city, with plenty of green space and international culture.
Q. How was studying at Oxford?
Honestly, I felt like I had won the lottery! It was an incredible experience to go and study at one of the top universities in the world.
Q. You also studied abroad, where did you go?
While working on my PhD, I spent eight months in India studying malnutrition and infectious diseases. This research led to my first book, The Battle Against Hunger, which was released in 2008.
Q. Your second book in 2017, had quite a well-known co-author?
Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? was co-authored with former First Daughter of the United States, Chelsea Clinton.
Q. You said in 2018, how you believed a global viral outbreak wasn't just a possibility, but an absolute certainty, why was that?
A fast-moving respiratory pathogen was unavoidable—it was a matter of when not if. What we couldn't predict, however, was how the virus would spread and which regions would be heavily affected first.
Q. Do you believe there have been lessons learned from the pandemic that could make a powerful difference to the world?
There has been a lot of personal pain, for so many, which can't be undone but, as far as the current situation in Scotland and much of the UK is concerned, I'm largely optimistic. We didn't know a year back if we would have any vaccines or therapeutics—and we now have at least five safe and effective vaccines, and the UK is lucky to have acquired millions of doses of several of them. The main challenge now is the growing divide between rich countries racing ahead and poor countries left behind with these new research products. Covid-19 has revealed the importance of good underlying health and ensuring investment is made in reducing health inequalities. I think we need to be prioritising public health measures such as access to and affordability of nutritious foods.
Q. As the saying goes, you can't pour from an empty cup, so how have you kept going throughout this period?
The important thing is to make time for maintaining relationships with family and friends, exercise, eating well, and getting good, solid sleep. I'd be no good to anyone if I burned out and was exhausted all the time. So I try to get up early to exercise, eat reasonably well, and turn off my computer and phone at certain times to spend it with people I care about. Sleep is the hardest thing to manage as, if I have work deadlines, I end up just cutting into my sleep late at night. But then I try to use weekends to recover and have time to relax and recover.
Q. With over 3million Scots double vaccinated, what are your hopes for post-pandemic life?
What we have gone through presents the opportunity for the world to come together to think about how to rebuild in a better and more inclusive way. Like how the United Nations was created post World War II, I hope that we think about how to work more closely across countries.