Devi Sridhar

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, and the author of How Not to Die (Too Soon)

• Illustration: Guardian Design

  Cancer is now a story of the good, the bad and the ugly – but also hope

  Devi Sridhar

  It’s natural to focus on breakthroughs, but there are many challenges in Britain and around the world. There is no magic bullet, but there’s room for optimism, says Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

• A poster about Ebola at a border crossing between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 May 2026.

  Ebola in the DRC needs the world’s attention now – if your neighbour’s house is on fire, you don’t wait and watch

  Devi Sridhar

  In the interconnected world we live in the west can’t afford to turn away, says Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
• SPAIN-HEALTH-HANTAVIRUS-ILLNESS-TOURISMA passenger evacuated from the Dutch flagged hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius waves aboard a military bus after being transferred by boat to the industrial port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on May 10, 2026. Repatriation flights for the nearly 150 passengers onboard the ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak began as passengers were transferred to shore on smaller vessels then by bus to the airport to be flown home after weeks at sea. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP via Getty Images)

  The hantavirus outbreak has been well-handled – but there are still dangerous days ahead

  Devi Sridhar

  All the protocols that health experts like me look for have been followed. But outbreaks on cruise ships are notoriously hard to control, says public health expert Devi Sridhar
• Friends eating al fresco.

  A game-changer for good health? Scientists believe ‘we are when we eat’

  Devi Sridhar

  Decades of advice on what to eat and what not to might have been missing one key ingredient, according to new research, says Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

• UK parliament has passed a bill implementing a phased tobacco ban for anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.

  A non-controversial public health policy? The UK’s gradual ban on smoking has been a PR success

  Devi Sridhar
• Illustration

  Even without social media, phones have a subtle, damaging effect on our mental health

  Devi Sridhar

• A student receives the meningitis B vaccine at the University of Kent, Canterbury, March 2026.

  Kent’s meningitis outbreak taught me that post-Covid Britain is not as divided as many feared

  Devi Sridhar

  The government’s plan was clear and communities have followed its guidance – with young people leading the way, says Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
• Students queue for antibiotics at the University of Kent in Canterbury on 17 March 2026.

  Meningitis is back – and here is why

  Devi Sridhar

  After two deaths, it’s right to be concerned and to discuss investment in public health. But our system is good and it’s working, says Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
• Young girl eating chicken nuggets and pizza.

  Other countries are streets ahead of the UK on childhood obesity. Here’s what they’re doing differently

  Devi Sridhar

  There could be 227 million obese children worldwide by 2040. But as South Korea and Denmark have shown, it is possible to tackle this crisis, says Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

• Two older women with shoulder-length hair and wearing T-shirts, leggings and trainings hold heavy exercise balls in a gym

  I’ve seen some bizarre exercises online. If I were an influencer, this is the one workout I’d recommend

  Devi Sridhar
• Donald Trump signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization, Washington, 20 January 2025.

  Trump has pulled the US out of the World Health Organization – here’s why that’s sheer hypocrisy

  Devi Sridhar

• Traffic in Lewisham, south London, in 2020.

  Air pollution kills thousands a year in the UK and abroad – why isn’t there a bigger uproar?

  Devi Sridhar

  Initiatives such as London’s ULEZ can be a model for other cities. But even more could be done to save lives and protect us from deadly toxins in the air, says Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

• Illustration

  The WHO learned to love ‘anti-obesity’ jabs in 2025. I don’t fully agree, but I get it

  Devi Sridhar

  While GLP-1 drugs promise an easy fix, our bodies still need what they have always needed: healthy food and regular exercise, says chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, Prof Devi Sridhar
  
• busy hospital scene

  Don’t call it a ‘super flu’ – but the NHS is right to be worried this winter

  Devi Sridhar

  An early flu season, a new variant and poor takeup of vaccines leave the already vulnerable health service in a dangerous position, says Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
• Students sit on chairs watching woman in blue medical scrubs using stethoscope to listening to chest of medical dummy lying in bed

  Interviewing future medical students gave me that rare thing: hope for the NHS

  Devi Sridhar

  They face long hours, mediocre pay and, at worst, no job, but their optimism is astonishing – let’s support them better, says Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

• The Covid memorial wall in London

  Vote for competent leaders, not entertainers – that’s what I wish the Covid report could say

  Devi Sridhar
• Arm with vaccine being administered

  Covid vaccines may increase the lifespan of cancer patients – this could be a game changer

  Devi Sridhar

• Commercial farm with chickens in battery cages

  Beef, pork, chicken: the world loves cheap meat. If people knew what really goes in it, that love affair would be over

  Devi Sridhar

  Antibiotic use in farming is now rampant. How meat is produced in China may mean the drugs you need here won’t work, says Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
• A computer-generated image of various junk foods crammed into a paper bag, with one side looking like the profile of a face

  Today in Focus

  What are ultra-processed foods doing to our bodies? – podcast

  Numbers of younger people getting bowel and colon cancers are rising. Devi Sridhar explains why their diets could be to blame
• A person biting into a slice of pizza.

  Colon cancer is on the rise among young people – and research points to one major culprit

  Devi Sridhar

  If smoking was the cancer villain of the 20th century, eating ultra-processed food may be its 21st-century counterpart, says Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh