How Healthcare Sector Can Navigate Covid-19 Storm

A liquidity infusion of Rs 16,000 to 22,000 crore will be required by the healthcare sector

- Vishal Bali

In September 2019 the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) and The World Bank published a report calling for better preparedness by the world for managing the fallout of a high impact respiratory pathogen akin to the 1918 Spanish Flu virus which could cost the global economy $3 trillion.

It is ironical that within six months of this report, the unprecedented coronavirus health crisis is predicted to make a $9 trillion impact on the global economy. The world has experienced a series of pandemics, SARSin 2003, H5N1 in 2006, H1N1 in 2009, Ebola in 2013, MERS in 2015 but none turned from a healthcare crisis to a massive global financial crisis. COVID-19 has sent a chilling reminder that we live in an inter-connected world of public healthcare where a global pandemic can drag the world to a recession. This global health crisis is having the same impact on the citizens of the world as the World War II

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that the aftermath of COVID-19 will contract the global GDP by 3% with GDP/ Capita shrinking across 170 nations. The IMF has also predicted that the impact of the corona virus will leave India with a 1.9% GDP growth and a longer lockdown can also take India into a potential recession. Around 8 million people who work in the informal workforce of the country will struggle for their basic necessities. The amount of Government spending required to combat the impact of COVID-19 on the country is pegged at $79bn - $130bn or 3%- 5% of GDP.