Covid-19 preparedness: Is an Emergency Response System in place?

Uncountable numbers of people in India are suffering the painful and deadly consequences of a second wave of Covid-19 infections. The images in the media are heart-wrenching. It appears that the health system in India had become complacent and did not anticipate the devastation that the lurking virus could inflict, surreptitiously at the beginning, while multiplying with the mathematics of exponents. More recently, Nepal has been placed on call. A lack of preparedness can be devastating there as well.

The global response to the Covid-19 catastrophe to aid the afflicted countries (India, Brazil and other hotspots) has been rather poor. Responses from within each afflicted country are beginning to emerge, with volunteers doing a remarkable job with limited resources. It is imperative for key UN/global agencies, set up to battle major health crises, to step up with a global taskforce and coordinate their plans with local operations. Much as we would like to think otherwise, this is a global calamity—it must be fought decisively with global coordination and resolve. Otherwise, the menace will continue to circle the world with more deadly variants.