The world recently witnessed the severity of the Covid-19 crisis in India where people are dying due to lack of lifesaving oxygen in the hospitals. The Hindustan Times, in its editorial (April 22, 2021) writes that ‘As the brutal second wave of the pandemic has hit India, there has been almost a war over oxygen cylinders among states, and between states and the Centre’. Against such a backdrop, the Delhi High Court told the Centre that ‘We will have to enforce the fundamental rights of people and direct beg, borrow and steal and do whatever you have to do but you have to do. We cannot see people dying, because people are dying. Do whatever you have to do but you have to do’.
According to the report, India, with 1.4 billion people accounts for ‘nearly half of all new cases in a global surge’ which is leading to a severe catastrophe (New York Times, April 24, 2021; The Hindustan Times editorial, April 21, 2021).Tens of thousands of people are getting infected every day which is often making world records of Covid-19 infection. Mass cremations are taking place in many places across India. Therefore, ‘The endless pleading for a bed or oxygen, the masked tears at a funeral’ is a common picture now in India. Notably, more than 2000 people are dying each day in India due to the Covid-19 crisis for few days. Behind every death, there is a story of loved ones, there is a shattered dream of a family, and there is the risk of food, health and personal security for other members in the family.
Ironically, health sector is quite negligible in South Asian countries. The Covid-19 crisis clearly shows the fragile healthcare system in the region including India. According to the WHO (2019) data, while the global average per capita health expenditure in 2016 was US$ 1001, it was only US$ 191.25 for South Asia and excluding the Maldives and Sri Lanka the average per capita health expenditure for the rest six South Asian countries stand at the only US $ 54.83.As a result, the health sector remained vulnerable to any disease. The Indian Express (April 23, 2021) notes that ‘In many cities, despite improvements in infrastructure,…getting admitted to a better hospital is a card-swipe away’. Thus, the Hindu, in its editorial (April 20, 2021)suggests that ‘India must quickly improve health facilities to be able to prevent deaths’. It is suggested that from a long term perspective, India needs to invest heavily on the health sector.
In fact, Covid-19 has shown that South Asian countries including India needs more doctors, ventilators, and ambulances compared to soldiers, tanks, and guns. Public health infrastructure in the South Asian countries including India needs to be resilient so that in the face of any pandemic, it is not collapsed. Thus, a concerted regional effort is needed to save lives from the Covid-19 crisis, which requires deepening regional cooperation. From a global perspective, there is no alternative to promote international cooperation on health. It is also suggested that developed countries need to expand the technical, financial and logistic support as well as capacity building for the developing countries to face any pandemic.
The bottom-line is that India is currently battling the most public health crisis which requires cooperation from all corners. The international community, the neighbouring countries and others need to come forward with urgent help to save innocent people in India from Covid-19 deaths. Only the prompt and effective regional and global response/cooperation can save many Indians from death. In fact, the humanity needs to be triumphed over anything.