A solitary mourner with his loved one in a makeshift cremation ground in New Delhi Ajay Sukumaran, Preetha Nair, Jyotika Sood April 29, 2021 00:00 IST We, The Makers Of This Calvary outlookindia.com 2021-04-30T17:51:03+05:30
It was last October that Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz described India as the “poster child of what not to do” in handling the Covid-induced crisis, slotting the country with the US and Brazil. Six months ago, the economist’s sharp tone could perhaps have been brushed aside, given that things were actually looking up. The epidemic, at least, was heading the other way down. But now, it would seem prophetic a textbook case of how things can go horribly wrong just when they were going swimmingly well.
outlookindia.com 2021-04-30T17:09:01+05:30
Is not my health in my own hands? That is what we have been taught from childhood. Health is maintained by living right, avoiding indiscretion or excesses, keeping in balance the life forces within. Keep body and mind clean and you will keep diseases at bay. These arguments are quite familiar to us. In truth they are spurious, and need to be revised.
True, there are a few diseases of ‘self-harm’ from substance addictions and promiscuous sex, for example, but they are not what we are discussing here. If I fall ill with tuberculosis, typhoid, or any of the innumerable infectious diseases widely prevalent in India, am I to blame myself? They were controlled in many countries early in the twentieth century. Why are they yet uncontrolled in India? Does not the government have some role in my illness? This is a critically important question.
outlookindia.com 2021-04-30T17:18:21+05:30
As we brave the firestorm of the COVID-19 second wave, the single, clear, overall impression is that the government’s efforts to tackle this unprecedented crisis have all but collapsed. Individuals are on their own, assisted by a heroic but over-strapped healthcare system rising to the challenge, backed by civil society efforts. The problems are too numerous and grim to be enumerated, ranging from shortage of oxygen, to beds, vaccines and medication.
Yet, when the layers of government are peeled away, below the overall failure, a chequered picture emerges. Some states are doing better than others in all aspects of facing the devastation. Local governments such as municipalities and panchayats are also performing better, though their efforts are not celebrated enough as they happen far from the media’s eye. The Union government’s failures are all out there for us to see, regardless of the efforts to remove social media post
outlookindia.com 2021-04-30T17:23:10+05:30
We have lost too many lives, and we should not wait for action as more deaths keep piling. First, by avoiding a blame game, we should fix accountability so that necessary changes are incorporated in the efficient management of the pandemic situation. All over the world, second waves were happening while India was going through the low transmission season. As in war, the best time to defeat the enemy is when it is weak. Squandering this opportunity, the country did not plan to prevent and mitigate the serious consequences of a second wave. Even in states where technical experts advised an imminent second wave, nothing changed much due to other competing priorities. We need to finalise a plan for the long haul of managing multiple waves, including an action plan for enhancing vaccination coverage through strong microplanning, intensive mobilisation and effective communication strategies.