India faces daunting challenges

India has overtaken Brazil as the country with the second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases and the billionaire-population nation clearly seems to be in a dilemma about which direction to take when it comes to protecting lives and livelihoods.  

Long-term lockdowns cannot be a solution in a nation where unemployment is rampant.

With the economy imploding following months of travel restrictions, authorities have pressed on with risky reignition plans.

Key metro train lines have re-opened as part of efforts to boost the South Asian nation’s battered economy and so do many other sectors.

The reopenings come after India’s economy shrank faster than any other major nations, nearly 24% in the last quarter.

India’s economic pain dates to the demonetisation of the nation’s currency in 2016 and a hasty rollout of a goods and services tax the next year. But the strict virus lockdown that started on March 24 further exacerbated the economic woes.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered everyone in the country to stay indoors, the whole economy shut down within four hours. Millions lost their jobs instantly and tens of thousands of migrant workers, out of money and fearing starvation, poured out of cities and headed back to villages. The unprecedented migration not only hollowed out India’s economy but also spread the virus to the far reaches of the country.

India has emerged in recent weeks as the new global pandemic hotspot, although cases continue to soar across the globe with reported infections worldwide nearing 27 million and deaths surpassing 880,000.

India, home to some of the world’s most densely populated cities, has been reporting the highest single-day rises in the world and on Monday it confirmed a new record of nearly 91,000 new cases.

Deaths in the country have been relatively low so far, but it has posted more than 1,000 deaths for each of the last five days.

Relations between the UAE and India have remained the very best right from the beginning. COVID-19 has reinforced the importance of collaboration between countries and health systems.

When Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority, DHA, Humaid Al Qutami, recently received the Indian Consul-General Dr Aman Puri at the DHA headquarters, he highlighted the long-standing relationship between the two countries in several fields including the health sector. He discussed ways to explore and enhance cooperation between the two countries in the medical field.

He added that DHA is keen to collaborate with global health institutions to foster knowledge-transfer and provide high-quality care to patients.

 The two sides will discuss knowledge transfer, exchange of best practices and collaboration in all aspects of healthcare delivery in both countries.

In December 2019, a delegation headed by Al Qutami visited India on an official tour. The delegation visited several esteemed healthcare hospitals and institutions in India to explore collaborative opportunities in the healthcare sector.

Specific areas of collaboration included mental health, organ transplant, medical research, cancer care, cardiology, health innovation, mental health services and geriatric services.

Separately, Sheikh Fahim Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Government Relations, DGR, Sharjah, recently explored potential ways of strengthening cooperation between Sharjah and the Indian capital, New Delhi, in healthcare, food security and information technology in the post-COVID world, during a recent meeting with Dr. Aman Puri.

The consul-general was briefed on the precautionary health and safety measures taken to provide a safe environment for visitors arriving through Sharjah International Airport.

Global cooperation is the best forward in the fight against the pandemic.