Abstract
PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic is certain to have an unprecedented impact on the global population, but marginalized and vulnerable groups in low-income countries (LICs) are predicted to carry the largest burden. This study focuses on the implications of COVID-19-related measures on three population groups in India, including (1) migrant laborers (of which a majority come from Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), as well as Other Backward Classes (OBCs)), (2) children from low-income families and, (3) refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a sequential mixed-method research design. A desk-based study of a selection of government reports was undertaken on the COVID-19-related mitigation measures. The desk study was followed by in-depth interviews with purposively recruited high-ranking experts in specific sectors of policy implementation and service delivery across the country.FindingsThe outcomes of this study shed light on (1) the most urgent needs that need to be addressed per population group, (2) the variety of state-level responses as well as best practices observed to deal with mitigation issues and (3) opportunities for quick relief as well as more long-term solutions.Practical implicationsThe COVID-19 pandemic has not only reduced people's means of maintaining a livelihood but has simultaneously revealed some of India's long-standing problems with infrastructure and resource distribution in a range of sectors, including nutrition and health, education, etc. There is an urgent need to construct effective pathways to trace and respond to those people who are desolate, and to learn from – and support – good practices at the grassroot level.Originality/valueThe current study contributes to the discussion on how inclusive public health might be reached.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic began as a public health emergency and soon became a global humanitarian crisis
We look at three important population groups across the country, including (1) migrant laborers (of which a majority come from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), as well as other backward classes), (2) children of low-income families and (3) refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs)
In this study, we aimed to explore in which ways the Government of India set out to protect the country against the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, and, more significantly, what efforts were made to mitigate the impact of COVID-related measures on the most vulnerable groups in India
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic began as a public health emergency and soon became a global humanitarian crisis. The analysis of a complex public health challenge like COVID-19 pandemic calls for a sophisticated, transdisciplinary approach, drawing on ideas and insights from public health, ethics, development studies, economics, sociology, anthropology, law and international relationships The dominant driving force behind COVID-19-related public health plans and policies seems so far to have been informed by bio-medical and epidemiological approaches, raising questions about why there has not been more consideration to contextualizing public health responses, in the context of low-and middle-income countries (LICs and MICs), such as India. Some of the consequences of India’s lockdown, which has been largely copied from wealthier countries, are already pointing to a human catastrophe that reaches far beyond the direct medical consequences of COVID-19, with homeless people being driven off the streets, and millions of daily wage workers being forced to return to their families in the rural areas, often walking miles without sufficient food and drink. Not long after the lockdown commenced, numerous suicide cases have been reported as a result of the COVID-19 measures, as well as an increased fear that “hunger will kill us before Corona does” (e.g. BBC, 25 March 2020)
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