How to strengthen our efforts in the fight against CoronaVirus to better handle the cross border tensions and the economic crisis

There are enough evidences that support that more than the cure, which often takes time to be developed, it is the human behaviour and awareness that goes the long way in the fight against any deadly virus. Be it Ebola of West Africa around 2014 or Polio that troubled India since late 1970s till 2012, what helped big time in the fight against these viruses were active mass participation of communities and change of behaviour to better the living conditions. To analyze how India should move forward in its fight against COVID-19, let's try and draw some insights from our fight against Polio.

In 2009, India reported the 741 Polio cases, more than any other country. The country faced unique challenges in its fight against this virus. Some of the major ones were high population density, poor sanitation, widespread diarrhoea, and reluctance of many communities to accept the vaccine. It was a humongous task for the Government and the health agencies to overcome these constraints so that India could even dream of being Polio free one day. But now we know that India did manage to do the then impossible looking task by the active involvement and participation of the Government, local and international health agencies and many other organisations. Reaching out to the last person and spreading awareness among everyone, Amitabh ji's "Ek boond Zindagi k liye" being a prime example, was the key that these organisations ensured. Even in those days, fake news and rumours were not uncommon, and the stigma against the vaccine, because some believed it had drastic side effects or caused impotency needed to be overcome by spreading the right information and educating people about the importance of the vaccine. Even in those days, people were told about the need of hand washing and hygiene. Major religious and community leaders helped in the fight by urging their people to immunise their children. All these small but significant steps proved to be the building blocks of India's victory against Polio.

On similar ground, we can draw inferences on how to go about with the Corona Virus. We all can agree upon the fact that only personal hygiene and social distancing are our two main weapons in this fight, until the world develops a vaccine. But it has proved to be extremely difficult to make everyone realize the importance of hygiene and social distancing. Especially in a time when the Economy is in a crisis and uncountable immigrants don't have a backup plan to go about with their lives in lock down or with limited income, expecting them to understand by themselves is not practical in itself. That's where the role of the community becomes so important. Helping the not so lucky ones get a meal or looking out for others who are struggling, both mentally or physically can make sure we as a whole fight this war against Corona. But that is something many organisations are already doing, their efforts though seem to be overdone by the virus as the cases are still increasing. The one main reason out of many for this ever increasing number of cases could be that right after the lock down was uplifted, our behaviour has been as if the virus is no more here. We have reduced practising social distancing or wearing masks when travelling outside. There are many social organisations trying to call out people for neglecting safety measures, and the police has been always there to keep an eye of these activities. But we humans are not yet willing to give up on our natural lifestyle. That's what makes the involvement of community again very important. The call by religious and community leaders to ask the people to keep practising safety measures and spreading awareness through songs or movies or advertisements of the importance of hand washing and social distancing is the only way out.

Next, it is important that we stay away from fake news ourselves and ensure we are not forwarding it ahead as well. The time when we need people to unite, holding any particular group or community responsible for this virus or the increase in the cases is not going to help. Talking positively about the good initiatives of different Governments is as essential as pointing out the flaws in some of their policies and crticizing them for it. At the same time, it's important we make sure not to try and leverage from the current situation trying to make extra money by following some ill practices. Like earlier mentioned, this is everybody's fight.

The cross border tensions and our struggling economy is making our fight even more difficult with the Government facing challenges from all directions. If I try and explain it in the layman words, Government can try and give money directly into the people's pockets so that people could afford to spend, which would increase the demand and kickstart the supply chain and in turn our economy. But the Government on multiple occasions has claimed that they don't have enough funds to do that. So since we can't print as much money as we need ourselves (not that printing money doesn't cost money itself otherwise every nation would have been printing money 24x7), we might have to borrow loans from abroad. But since India's credit rating is just one step away from being declared junk as Moody's Investors Service downgraded India to the lowest investment grade level, more loan would mean accepting to be credited with the junk tag very soon, which would have all kinds of negative impacts on India's Foreign Development Policies, forcing many investors to move out of India.

So as it is evident, India faces an unprecedented situation right now and we need quick solutions to our many problems. And in my opinion, the situation would improve only after we win against the Corona Virus first as soon as possible, enabling our Government to focus on the other essential problems.