Combating the COVID-19 pandemic in a resource-constrained setting: insights from initial response in India. Issue 11 (13th November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Other Names: Bairwa Mohan author non-byline.; Behera Sabyasachi author non-byline.; Chavda Paragkumar Dhirajlal author non-byline.; Kulkarni Praveen author non-byline.; Mohapatra Archisman author non-byline.; Ramraj Balaji author non-byline.; Shivalli Siddharudha author non-byline.; Singh Arvind Kumar author non-byline.; Singh Manish Kumar author non-byline.; Rohilla Ravi author non-byline.; Chawla Bharti author non-byline.; Chawla Sumit author non-byline.; Wani Rabbanie Tariq author non-byline.; Agarwalla Rashmi author non-byline.; Chatterjee Pranab author non-byline.; Jahagirdar Shubhashri Sudhiendra author non-byline.; Majhi Madan Mohan author non-byline.; Salve Harshal Ramesh author non-byline.; Shukla Pallavi author non-byline.; Yadav Kapil author non-byline.; Sathiyamoorthy Ramadass author non-byline.; Sharma Nitika author non-byline.; Sarkar Kaushik author non-byline.; Sahoo Soumya Swaroop author non-byline.; Verma Madhur author non-byline.; Ahmad Shamshad author non-byline.; Kumar Dewesh author non-byline.; Chatterjee Anirban author non-byline.; Pamei Gaihemlung author non-byline.; Solanki Hariom Kumar author non-byline.; Chakraborty Shashanka Shekhar author non-byline.; Naik Gitismita author non-byline.; Mohan Kumar M author non-byline.; Aravinda Chinnadurai author non-byline.; Karir Shilpa author non-byline.; Panda Jasmin Nilima author non-byline.; Kshatri Jaya Singh author non-byline.; Nayak Smrutiranjan author non-byline.; Patro Sithun Kumar author non-byline.; Datta Shib Sekhar author non-byline.; Ghosh Nilanjana author non-byline.; Roy Pritam author non-byline.; Dudala Shankar Reddy author non-byline.; Annadani Rachana R author non-byline.; Undi Malatesh author non-byline.; Prabhu Sudhir author non-byline.; Yatnatti Santosh K author non-byline.; Pillai Rakesh N author non-byline.; Stanley Antony author non-byline.; Konda Satyanarayana G author non-byline.; Davara Kajal author non-byline.; Rupani Mihir Prafulbhai author non-byline.; Mundra Anuj author non-byline.; Goel Akhil Dhanesh author non-byline.; Gupta Manoj Kumar author non-byline.;
• Is Part Of: BMJ global health. Volume 5:Issue 11(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-11-13
• Subjects: control strategies -- health policy -- health systems -- prevention strategies -- public health; World health -- Periodicals; 362.105
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003416
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2059-7908

Abstract

Abstract : The low-and-middle-income country (LMIC) context is volatile, uncertain and resource-constrained. India, an LMIC, has put up a complex response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an analytic approach, we have described India's response to combat the pandemic during the initial months (from 17 January to 20 April 2020). India issued travel advisories and implemented graded international border controls between January and March 2020. By early March, cases started to surge. States scaled up movement restrictions. On 25 March, India went into a nationwide lockdown to ramp up preparedness. The lockdown uncovered contextual vulnerabilities and stimulated countermeasures. India leveraged existing legal frameworks, institutional mechanisms and administrative provisions to respond to the pandemic. Nevertheless, the cross-sectoral impact of the initial combat was intense and is potentially long-lasting. The country could have further benefited from evidence-based policy and planning attuned to local needs and vulnerabilities. Experience from India offers insights to nations, especially LMICs, on the need to have contextualised pandemic response plans.