Book Event: Deployed by Kevin De Cock
With infectious disease threats resurging amid faltering international cooperation and funding, a veteran leader's firsthand account of past crises arrives as new pandemics loom.
Key takeaways
- •Kevin De Cock's career spans the AIDS pandemic's peak, Ebola outbreaks, and Covid-19, highlighting how delayed or politicised responses repeatedly amplified global death tolls and economic damage.
- •Global health security funding faces sharp cuts and donor fatigue in 2026, even as measles, mpox, and avian influenza outbreaks signal rising risks from weakened surveillance and response systems.
- •Tensions persist between national sovereignty and collective action, where unilateral decisions during crises have historically undermined containment efforts and equitable access to countermeasures.
Lessons from Decades of Crisis
Kevin De Cock, a physician who led CDC's Kenya office, founded its Center for Global Health, and directed WHO's HIV/AIDS department, has confronted successive infectious disease emergencies since the 1980s. His book Deployed chronicles responses to AIDS, which killed over 40 million people worldwide, Ebola epidemics that exposed coordination failures in West Africa, and Covid-19, which caused nearly 7 million reported deaths and trillions in economic losses.
The timing of this reflection stems from a post-Covid landscape where global health preparedness has eroded. International funding for pandemic prevention and response declined after 2022, with major donors redirecting resources amid competing geopolitical priorities. The World Health Organization struggles with a chronic budget shortfall, while the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) faces reauthorisation uncertainties that could disrupt antiretroviral treatment for millions in sub-Saharan Africa.
Real-world consequences are already visible. Measles cases surged globally in 2025 due to vaccination gaps widened during Covid-19 disruptions, with outbreaks in regions once close to elimination. Mpox transmission continues in under-resourced settings, and H5N1 avian influenza detections in mammals raise fears of a new zoonotic jump. These incidents illustrate the fragility of gains made against vaccine-preventable and emerging diseases.
Non-obvious tensions include the trade-off between rapid national action and multilateral coordination. During Ebola and Covid-19, export restrictions on medical supplies and vaccine hoarding by wealthy nations delayed responses in poorer countries, prolonging outbreaks and increasing mutation risks that eventually affected everyone. Another under-discussed angle is the burnout and institutional memory loss in global health agencies after repeated deployments without adequate support, which weakens future readiness.
De Cock's experiences underscore that infectious diseases do not respect borders, and effective responses require sustained investment, scientific independence from politics, and trust between nations—elements now in short supply.
Sources
- https://www.csis.org/events/book-event-deployed-kevin-de-cock
- https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/33278/deployed
- https://www.amazon.com/Deployed-Physician-Front-Global-Health/dp/1421453061
- https://publichealth.nyu.edu/events-news/events/2025/12/05/deployed-physician-front-lines-global-health-conversation-kevin-m-de