In response to Martin Kettle’s opinion piece (A century on, why are we forgetting the deaths of 100 million?, 25 May), Hannah Mawdsley sets out the scheduled commemoration coverage for the victims of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic (World remembers Spanish flu deaths, Letters, 29 May).
However, her letter has two omissions. The first is that the modest list of events will not in my view lodge an understanding of this history and its significance for the vast majority of the population. The second and more important point in Kettle’s piece is that the centenary is not just a commemoration of the victims but a reminder that a pandemic could strike again. Indeed the global reach of countries makes this more likely than less.
Questions presented from this include: do people and nations recognise the risks from pandemic; does education and adapted behaviours reduce these risks; and how robust are the mechanisms to respond and cope with a pandemic as devastating as Spanish flu?
I for one am not confident that there is such a widespread recognition, nor that the required mechanisms are in place.
Andrew Winfield
Bude, Cornwall
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