Creating a lasting legacy of collaboration across South Asia

In February 2021, Covid-19 numbers started rising again in South Asia with the official daily case counts rising beyond 400,000 in India, 6,000 in Pakistan and 7,500 in Bangladesh, straining their health systems. The massive surge in India soon spilled over across the border into Nepal, leading to "apocalyptic" scenes of overwhelmed hospitals.

This virus knows no borders. Containing it has necessitated global cooperation among scientists, policymakers and society. Despite wide variation in how nations have responded to the pandemic, the most successful strategies find commonality in their adherence to science and attention to local context.