Why is the world still being hit by wave after wave of Covid when we know how to stop it? | Helen Clark and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Leaders failed to act fast enough when Covid-19 appeared. They must not keep making the same mistakes

• Covid pandemic was preventable, says WHO-commissioned report

Death and illness from Covid-19 is steadily rising once again. In the last week of April, more than 93,000 people died - approaching the worst of the global second wave. How can this still be happening? How can some countries still be experiencing wave after wave of infection when we know how to prevent them?

For the past eight months, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response has been rigorously reviewing the evidence of what happened to allow Covid-19 to take a firm grip - and why. The panel spoke to hundreds of experts and people on the frontline of the response, and conducted extensive original research and numerous literature reviews.