A decade ago, the world's eyes were focused nervously on West Africa when Ebola ravaged the region. It left 11,000 people dead in its wake. Now the epidemic is over, does the threat of its return loom and what lessons did the world learn? Arrival of vaccines are a game changer – but new strains can still pose a challenge.

The BBC’s Africa Correspondent Anne Soy tells Mark Lowen what horrors she saw on the ground when the region was struck. And Naomi Grimley, from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and former Global Health Correspondent at the BBC, shares what the world learnt from the largest Ebola epidemic in history.

The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We’re keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the world. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell The Global Story. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480. #TheGlobalStory.

The Global Story is part of the BBC News Podcasts family. The team that makes The Global Story also makes several other podcasts, such as Americast and Ukrainecast, which cover US news and the war in Ukraine. If you enjoy The Global Story, then we think that you will enjoy some of our other podcasts too. To find them, simply search on your favourite podcast app.

This episode was made by Richard Moran and Rachel Hagan. The technical producers were Frank McWeeny and Matt Hewitt. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Additional reporting by Caroline Loyer.

Ebola virus: Are mass outbreaks history? 25:49 Share

The Global Story

Shownotes Transcript

Ebola virus: Are mass outbreaks history?