Essay on "Social and Economic effect of COVID-19".
Answers
Explanation:
1. Introduction
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic, caused by SARS-COV2, is of unprecedented global public health concern [1]. To combat the disease, the Government of India imposed a lockdown in most districts of the 22 States and Union Territories where confirmed cases were reported from March 24, 2020 onwards. Currently, the lockdown has been extended till May 31, 2020. The Government of India has claimed success in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, stating that the number of cases would have been more if the nationwide lockdown had not been imposed. However, this view is now being contested, as recently numbers of COVID19 cases have surged.
In this brief review, we aim to discuss the impact of the lockdown in response to the COVID 19 pandemic on social, economic, health, and National Health Programs in India.
2. Search methodology
The literature search has been carried out by using the key terms ‘COVID19’ combined with, ‘lockdown’, ‘social’, ‘economic, ‘healthcare’, ‘diseases’, ‘National Health Programs’, ‘low socio-economic stratum’, ‘India’ from PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD) and Google Scholar from January 2020 to May 2020. A manual search of the references was carried out. Articles from several non-academic sources (e.g. news websites etc.) were also accessed.
3. The economic impact
Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth had been estimated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at 6.2% in 2019-20 . The International Monetary Fund however, lowered India’s growth forecast by 1.3% points to 4.8% for 2019-20 and stated that India’s growth had slowed sharply. It is self-evident, therefore, that an economy already affected by slow growth in the previous fiscal year would be severely affected by the lockdown as a result of the pandemic. The Small and Medium Enterprises market ratings project that the nationwide lockdown is expected to incur losses of over $4.5 billion (₹ 35,000 crores) every day during the lockdown. The healthcare sector, the fourth-largest employer in the country, and specifically the private sector which provides nearly 80% of out-patient care and about 60% of in-patient care is currently facing 90% losses due to decreases in out-patient attendance, elective surgeries and international patients .
4. Socio-cultural challenges
The social fabric of India thrives on interdependence, both emotional and economic, within families, relatives and friends [14]. Close physical interactions like living in crowded housing and other places, pushing and jostling are extremely common and are deterrent to ‘social distancing’ as dictated during this pandemic. Despite the lockdown, crowding has been observed in religious places, during travel (e.g. ‘herds’ of migrants on buses) [15], or even while purchasing liquor at the shops. While ‘vertical distancing’ is the cause of inequalities in India, the ‘horizontal distancing’ put in place in the wake of COVID19 has further exacerbated these inequalities [16].
The more troubling aspect is the lack of proper provision of safety nets (e.g. food safety) for those hit the hardest by lockdown [12]. Due to the enormous scale of the problem the government schemes remain vastly inadequate. As a result of the lockdown, there is increased possibility of malnutrition among the low SES. The Food Corporation of India recently allotted 12.96 lakh metric tonnes of food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna (PMGKAY) as an initiative of Government of India in its fight against the COVID19 [17]. Efficacy of this scheme and adequacy of food distribution remains to be seen.
5. Impact on health, prevalent diseases and National Programs
Morbidity and mortality due to COVID19 in India are largely attributable to co-morbid conditions i.e. non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular disease [[18], [19], [20]]. Further, early-onset of NCDs, as seen commonly in India, is likely to put even younger individuals at risk for COVID19.
The lockdown could also be a cause of weight gain during the COVID19 pandemic, because of poor physical activity, increased snacking and consumption of calorie-dense foods. In an observational study conducted by our group, carbohydrate consumption and frequency of snacking increased by 21% and 23%, respectively, exercise duration was reduced in 42% patients and weight gain occurred in 19% of patients with type 2 diabetes [22]. Weight gain and obesity could increase the severity of COVID-19 (30) and may increase the risk of development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the future.
6. Conclusion
The pandemic of COVID19 has necessitated the need for attention to the underserved and marginalised populations holistically, to prevent long-lasting adverse health outcomes. Economic stressors on the whole population will need mitigation and quick changes in policy would help. Finally, National Health Programs for communicable and NCDs must be re-vitalised and strengthened.