Today is the 8th of April. The current 21-day nation-wide lockdown is slated to end on 14th of April. A number of state governments are planning to extend the lockdown for a few more weeks.
The experience of the lockdown and its impact on the health and lives of people across the country has been unraveling over the past few weeks. If further lockdown is proposed – partial or otherwise – the State has to urgently ramp up all efforts for monetary support for food, health care and other services, not only in the short term but for a period of time, that will enable people to cope with this unprecedented impact on their lives. What should be the strategies if the lockdown is continued?
On the occasion of World Health Day on 7th of April, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) and All India Peoples Science Network (AIPSN) held a press conference with speakers from Sama Resource Group for Women and Health, Jan Swasthya Sahyog (JSS), AIPSN, Right to Food and JSA and raised many important issues on the health system’s preparedness during and post-lockdown, specifically three inter-related crises at play at this time:
- a public health crisis due to gaps in the COVID-19 strategy
- a high level of stigmatization and brutality in the anti-COVID-19 measures
- a social and economic crisis precipitated by the nation-wide lockdown