Lessons for averting future pandemics

The UN General Assembly recently organised an event around breaking the panic-then-forget cycle around responsiveness to health emergencies. The strong underlying message conveyed during the event was that the Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to be the last health emergency globally.

Once an outbreak is controlled, attention is again directed to other concerns, discounting the possibility of another health emergency until it occurs. Several reports indicate that investments in preparedness would only cost $5 per person annually. The cost of the current pandemic has exceeded trillions of dollars and the number continues to increase. There is a need for a transformative and proactive approach to prevent future pandemics — or even becoming more resilient against them.

When the first nationwide lockdown was announced by the Prime Minister in the thick of the pandemic last year, there was panic and chagrin. Although much did go wrong initially, things sorted out eventually. Masks and social distancing were mandatory, testing went up, and awareness around the disease spread like wildfire. Even private players pitched in with their offerings to supplement governmental efforts. We were the second-highest producers of PPE kits in the world within just two months of the pandemic and the healthcare workforce set an example in dealing with the situation at hand, working tirelessly.

A huge gap in the response to the pandemic was the disruption of general health services with several people to receive healthcare outside the ambit of Covid-19. This was more in cases of elderly and those with non-communicable diseases and other common conditions.

India legalised telehealth guidelines but providers were scrambling to adjust infrastructure to suit the requirements.

Although from an in-limbo situation, we shifted to a futuristic connected care eco-system in light of the virus, the access to health for all Indians continues to stay below par. This is because of the deficit in the doctor-to-patient ratio in the country and a lag in introducing healthtech as a specialised subject in medical education. There’s need for a workforce that is digital savvy.

Many countries have focussed on strengthening their public healthcare laws in anticipation of future pandemics. For instance, in Australia, Section 51 of the Constitution provides the Federal government with legislative powers to quarantine. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued specific guidelines to provide assistance to states for preventing the spread of communicable diseases.

On the contrary, in India, we have a curative approach. The current government spending on public health staggers at less than 1 per cent of GDP — a figure that is dismal as per global standards. While Indians put their faith on the public health systems, they became under-resourced and overwhelmed.

The private sector offered innovation around home healthcare and using tech for better access. However, regulations and approvals are a huge roadblock making it a challenge for them to go that extra mile. India’s frontline workers must be strengthened. The ASHA and Anganwadi workers have been phenomenal in their work and must be formalised.

For better health

Pandemic response demands participation from all elements of society. A PPP approach will be key in improving capacity and efficiency of early warning and scope control for infectious disease. Healthcare institutions must strengthen their emergency response and implement measures on a war footing for better care and treatment. A tie-up with home healthcare companies can become beneficial on this front.

There is also a need to use digital technology to its full potential. Healthcare personnel including doctors, nurses, technicians and even the support staff must be trained to come together as a virtual disaster prevention and management unit. At the national level, services that need to be scaled up include telemedicine, video-conferencing, and webinars.

The current pandemic is nothing less than the biggest stress test for India’s healthcare ecosystem. The focus should be on reimagining the health system as a comprehensive and equitable entity where every person has access to quality care. This is what it will take for Covid-19 to become the singular inflection point in India’s history of battles against diseases.

The writer is MD and CEO, Portea Medical

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