Scientific and strategic talks on COVID-19

As experts in a variety of fields, WHO staff are vital resources for the latest science that can help achieve better health for everyone, everywhere. This portal hosts video recordings of presentations given by WHO experts at conferences and other forums so their knowledge can continue to be shared across the globe.

Please note that the videos capture the latest science at the time of the presentation, which is specified for each video. This is a video library only; no certificates are available.

11 September 2023
What are we learning from the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove
In this video, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove gives us a general summary and the key takeaways of what we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and how we can apply those lessons learnt in the future.

5 April 2022
Nature Medicine conference, Global epidemiological situation and the drivers of global trends
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove
The talk covers the global epidemiological situation and the drivers of global trends, the World Health Organization’s comprehensive strategy for coordinated public health action and ongoing response to the pandemic, as well as preparedness for future pandemics.

24 January 2022
150th session of the Executive Board Technical Briefing
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Dr Kate O’Brian, Dr Bruce Aylward and Dr Michael Ryan
This is a technical briefing by the WHO Secretariat on the “Global COVID-19 situation and way forward” at the 150th Executive Board Meeting on January 24th, 2022.

3 December 2021
TED Talk: How to end the pandemic and prepare for the next
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead
In conversation with Whitney Pennington Rodgers, Dr Van Kerkhove provides insights on the Omicron variant, gives an overview of a pandemic preparedness protocol under development at WHO and highlights what we all can do to bring the pandemic to an end.

15 November 2021
IMED 2021: COVID-19 How Far Have We Come and Where Do We Go?
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead
During this talk, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove covers the global epidemiological situation and the drivers of global trends, the World Health Organization’s comprehensive strategy for coordinated public health action and possible trajectories for the current phase of the pandemic.

12 July 2021
COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Overview - 31st ECCMID
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead
This keynote presentation by Dr Maria Van Kerkhove at the 31st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) gives an overview of the epidemiologic situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and outlines the global response and way forward.

25 May 2021
COVID-19 Pandemic Response Update - 74th World Health Assembly
Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme
This video gives an update on the COVID-19 pandemic response at the time of the 74th World Health Assembly.

4 May 2021
COVID-19 Situation and Strategic Response
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead
This video gives an overview of the global situation for COVID-19 and the strategic response forward, specifically focusing on the monitoring and assessment of the emergence of virus variants around the world.

19 February 2021
Research for Equity
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist
This video highlights different perspectives on research, product development, vaccines and equity.

19 February 2021
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on HIV and TB: WHO Perspective
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist
This video sheds light on HIV, TB and COVID-19 and how the 3 have intersected.

17 February 2021
COVID-19 Situation and Strategic Response
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead
This video gives a global overview of the COVID-19 pandemic and some of the elements of the pandemic response to date.

8 February 2021
COVID-19 Situation and Strategic Response
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead
This video provides an overview of the situation of the global pandemic and WHO's involvement in coordinating the global response.

7 December 2020
Global Epidemiology of COVID-19
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead
This video gives an overview of the epidemiologic situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

30 October 2020
Global Response to COVID-19: Next Steps
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead
This video gives an overview of the epidemiologic situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and outlines the global response and way forward.