pandemic response

Fighting the Pestilence: Lessons from South Korea (III)

November 20, 2020

The South Korean approach to COVID-19 may be difﬁcult to emulate even for countries like the US and the UK, but provides important policy implications for developing countries and needs for strengthening three core competencies: digital technology, efﬁcient health governance, and civic partnership.

Fighting the Pestilence: Lessons from South Korea (II)

November 19, 2020

Seventy percent of 10,400 confirmed cases were tested, treated, and confirmed recovered and sent back home. ‘Nearly 20,000 people are being tested every day for coronavirus in South Korea, more people per capita than anywhere else in the world’, a BBC report mentioned.

Fighting the Pestilence: Lessons from South Korea (I)

November 17, 2020

Global interdependence and domestic factors are two sides of the same coin. Pandemic-induced supply (lockdown-workplace closures/closing borders) as well as (consumer) demand collapse have a deep impact. Lockdowns and the associated effects on consumption and work (labour hours) are demand and supply shocks that increase the severity of a deep recession, exacerbate the size of it but save lives by reducing the severity of the epidemic.

Vietnam’s Effective and Low-Cost Response to COVID-19

September 10, 2020

Vietnam’s ‘Third Degree Contact Tracing’ approach is unique. Patients who tested positive were labelled ‘F0’ and epidemiologists worked with them to identify, trace and test all the people they had been in close contact with over the past 14 days. Detailed information about the movements of F0s was published in local media (with confidentiality maintained) so that people who had been in contact with them (defined as having been within 2 meters of the person or within an enclosed space for more than 30 minutes) could come forward for testing. These ‘F1’ contacts were tested and quarantined. Close contacts of F1s, the F2s, were also traced and tested and asked to quarantine at home.

Textile and Clothing Industry Severely Hit by COVID-19

August 31, 2020

In the fall of 2019 when the virus hit China, Indian firms began to feel the brunt as India imports various raw materials from China. When the lockdown was announced and within no time became a universal instrument to fight the virus, it brought disastrous economic effects as a by-product. Textile and apparel producers began to press for the relief package.

Kenya’s Response to COVID-19

July 2, 2020

The Government of Kenya largely adopted ‘containment’ as the strategy in the fight against COVID-19. After the confirmation of the first case in the country, the government’s immediate reaction was instituting policy measures and behavioural protocols aimed at averting the spread of the virus especially into the rural areas where most of the senior citizens reside.

Pakistan’s Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19

June 30, 2020

Pakistan is finalizing its annual budget 2020-21 in which healthcare has been considered for the first time in its history as a top priority area. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan used to spend around 2% of the GDP on the health sector, five times less than the global average of 10% spending on health.

Uncommon Response for Common People – The Case of Bankura (West Bengal)

June 12, 2020

As we move ahead in this fight, it is befitting to pause and acknowledge the efforts made by several large and small informal citizen groups that are unregistered and have no formal access to leverage financial support, and which came together to extend humanitarian support.

West Bengal’s COVID-19 Strategy: Beyond the Hype

June 4, 2020

The devastation caused by the Super Cyclone Amphan has in many ways dealt a body blow to the administration struggling to contain the pandemic in already challenging circumstances. Incidentally, the cyclone-affected areas are also the most affected by the coronavirus. Going forward, it would be imperative for the central and state administration to work in tandem to overcome the double-edged sword that has cut across West Bengal to ensure lives are saved and the economy put back on track.

Containment and Welfare: Rajasthan’s Two-Pronged Response to COVID-19

June 3, 2020

The strategy of strict containment, screening and lockdown was popularized as the ‘Bhilwara Model’. Other districts were encouraged to adopt it to tackle and limit the spread of COVID-19. But as the District Magistrate of Bhilwara himself suggests, the Bhilwara Model is applicable only in the context of small towns and districts where the population density is low, and it is easier to practice social distancing. In bigger cities and slums, it is difficult to adopt this approach. Thus, it is best to have a decentralized and customized approach depending on the context and conditions prevalent in the district.

Bihar and the Looming Corona Crisis

June 2, 2020

Discrimination against the poor and vulnerable, while extending support to the privileged has been the hallmark of Bihar’s governance model and this does not seem to have changed even during this crisis. Shocking images of poor migrants’ being held like prisoners in detention centres across India and reports of their starvation are rampant on social media. Despite this, the state government has refused to acknowledge the tragedy and continues to claim that it is handling the crisis well.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Maharashtra – Civil Society Response and Challenges Ahead

May 27, 2020

The state government’s plans did not take cognisance of the realities of the frontline workers, especially the care workers, despite them being assigned with vital roles. The limited preparedness of the government in ensuring sustenance to lakhs of migrants and homeless in terms of food, healthcare facilities and shelter homes is notable in this regard. Even before the government could set up the infrastructure (though minimally), significant action has been taken by the civil society organizations in reaching out to the vulnerable population.

Indonesia’s Response to Covid-19 Outbreak

May 21, 2020

In Indonesia, there were 11,597 people treated; 864 people dead and 1,954 recovered by May 4, 2020. This number is dynamic. Based on the FT analysis of the European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (2020), the graph in Indonesia will rapidly increase. Some sources state that it will peak in the month of Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr. Therefore, it is imperative that the government policy during Ramadhan and Eid Al Fitr support health and economic sectors to control the spread of COVID-19.

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