Ambassador Stephanie Williams on Australia’s health security diplomacy during Covid-19

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In this episode, Dr. Stephanie Williams, Australia’s ambassador for regional health security, talks with Katherine E. Bliss about the Australian government’s efforts to strengthen countries’ capacities to deliver health care, including Covid-19 vaccines. She describes what it was like to assume the role of regional health ambassador just as the Covid-19 pandemic was getting underway and discusses the work of the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security’s focus on health issues in the Indo-Pacific region. As Australia relaxes pandemic lockdown policies and travel requirements, she also considers the ways in which the current focus on Covid-19 offers opportunities to re-invest in primary health care and what countries should be doing now to plan for future pandemics.
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Katherine E. Bliss
Senior Fellow and Director, Immunizations and Health Systems Resilience, Global Health Policy Center