Reject, Revive and Innovate: What the Pandemic Teaches Us

Definitive lessons gleaned from India’s fight against the pandemic

- Dr Chandrakant Lahariya

The COVID-19 pandemic has been fought by every citizen of India. While health and essential services workers are at the frontline, it is the adoption of non-pharmacological interventions of face masks, hand washing and physical distancing by people, which has equally contributed to halt the spread. In Dharavi, Mumbai, the approach of ‘Test, Trace and Isolate and Treat’ was only partially successful till the strategy was modified to ensure community participation. The pandemic has underscored that good health is only possible with active community participation. That is the first learning.

In the early phase of the pandemic, health facilities were overwhelmed in nearly all countries. However, Thailand and Vietnam are being touted as success stories. They used lessons from the 2002–04 SARS outbreak for an effective COVID-19 response. These countries increased and sustained their funding for health services and primary health care, as well as strengthened their public health services. The health-care staff was trained in public health activities of community surveillance. On the contrary, countries which solely focused their attention on hospitals have struggled and are facing a second or third wave of the pandemic now. This is the second lesson: Countries with stronger primary health care and robust public health systems are more effective in tackling a pandemic.