BBC Witness History

Ten years on from the Ebola outbreak which tore through West Africa, journalist Tulip Mazumdar reconnects with survivors, healthcare workers and volunteers she met when reporting extensively from the frontline.

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The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak killed over 11,000. The epidemic exposed how unprepared the world was for fast-moving outbreaks - and how quickly they could spiral out of control.

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Ordinary people took action and managed to contain the virus. In 2026, Ebola is back in the headlines as the Bundibugyo strain spreads in the DRC. What have we learnt about science communication, pandemic preparedness and grief in the last decade, that can help us today?

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Sound designer Jonathan Webb listens out for audio evidence of fairies, fauns and nature spirits at the Findhorn settlement on the north east coast of Scotland.

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In the summer of 1978, many Swedish workers relished the chance to take longer, paid vacations than ever before.This was thanks to an update to Sweden’s Annual Leave Act - or Semesterlagen in Swedish - passed the previous year.

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The law guaranteed all employees four consecutive weeks of vacation, and increased their total annual leave to five weeks, giving them some of the longest paid holidays in the world.These policies transformed the way Swedes do business. Many factories and offices shut down for an entire month during the summer. Today,Sweden retains its strong reputation for work-life balance, and the annual leave act has given rise to the 'sommar jobb' - short summer jobs that help cover holiday absences.

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(Photo: Inga Persson. Credit: Inga Persson)

Producer: Maddy Savage

A Bespoken Media production for BBC World Service.

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One doctor dies by suicide every three weeks, according to figures from the British Medical Association.

In 2021, Dr Lalith Wijedoru left his role as consultant paediatrician in emergency medicine, to focus on supporting workforce health and wellbeing, including those working in healthcare.

Given rare access to a wellbeing and recovery retreat, we hear emotional testimonies from the four groups of doctors at greatest risk of suicide - General Practitioners, anaesthetists, surgeons and psychiatrists.

Their stories - of workplace bullying, isolation, fatigue and fear of patient complaints - suggest a system in which doctors are made to feel like machines, rather than human beings. The concept of 'moral injury' is also a factor - where a doctor is unable to provide the care they wish to give to their patient, due to lack of resources or system breakdown.

These stories take us to the heart of issues being faced by many or most NHS professionals - and by the ‘system’ more generally.

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Presenter: Dr Lalith Wijedoru

Producer: Amanda Hargreaves

Sound design: Joel Cox

Location recordings: Jon Calver

Executive producer: Dave Howard

A Bespoken Media Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

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