Oral history interview with Pranav P. Shetty, 2021
Abstract
Pranav P. Shetty reflects on his career in emergency medicine and global public health, and discusses his involvement in the international response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which he supported as the International Medical Corps' (IMC) emergency coordinator for Ebola. Shetty recounts the origins of his interests in global and public health, and describes formative deployments to numerous countries around the world responding to disasters and disease outbreaks. He focuses on the international response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic, and provides details about the epidemiology of the virus and the local conditions that facilitated its spread; the role of IMC in the response; the construction and operation of Ebola treatment units in Bong, Liberia; the importance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance; and the coordination between international non-governmental organizations. Shetty also evaluates the role of the Obama administration and U.S. government agencies and offices in the response, and shares the story of his attendance at the 2015 State of the Union Address, which he attended as a guest of the first lady. Also discussed are the challenges and major issues related to prevention and preparedness efforts in global health, the importance of institutional capacity to public health outcomes, and the position of global health in American medical education and training
Presidents--United States; World health; Public health; Ebola virus disease--Africa, West; Shetty, Pranav; Obama, Barack; International Medical Corps; United States. Agency for International Development
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
42 pages
Note (Biographical)
Pranav P. Shetty was an emergency physician and assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of California, Davis at the time of this interview. Before joining the University of California, he worked for several years in global public h ealth and humanitarian aid, and responded to disease outbreaks and disasters in countries including Libya, South Sudan, Jordan, Liberia, Nigeria, and Yemen. During the 2014 Ebola epidemic, he served as the International Medical Corps' emergency coordinator for the virus. In recognition for his role in the international response to Ebola, Shetty was invited to the 2015 State of the Union Address as a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama
Note
Interviewed by by Mary Marshall Clark on July 6, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Pranav P. Shetty, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023