The economies of nation-states across the world have taken a major hit from the COVID pandemic. But there have been some silent collateral benefits. As the world begins to rebuild the post COVID world it is important to look at those benefits and see how we can build on it.
It is a year since the first case of COVID was detected in India. The Indian Journal of Medical Research documents this in the blandest of terms, “We present here the first case of COVID-19 infection reported in Kerala, India. On January 27, 2020, a 20 yr. old female presented to the Emergency Department in General Hospital, Thrissur, Kerala, with a one-day history of dry cough and sore throat.”
27 days earlier, at the dawn of the new decade, China informed the WHO of a strain of pneumonia that had not been seen before. The Chinese authorities had reported a total of 44 patients infected in Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, and an industrial backend for a large part of the world. It is believed that the virus struck in November, and went undetected for critical weeks. By the time Wuhan locked down, on the 23rd of January 2020, it is estimated that “59,912 air passengers, of which 834 (95% UI: 478 – 1349) had 2019-nCoV infection, traveled from Wuhan to 382 cities outside of mainland China during the two weeks prior to Wuhan’s lockdown.” Those passengers went on to infect others, and before the world knew it, it was in the grips of a pandemic. Nations locked down; economies came to a grinding halt. Entire sectors of economies began facing economic ruin. Overnight, millions of people became unemployed, and it is estimated that around 120 million people will be pushed into poverty worldwide. As economies limp back to somewhat of a normalcy, it is time to glance back at the good that has come out of the pandemic and see how it can be built on.
At the top of the list is the outstanding level of scientific collaboration across borders. There has been a breaking down of silos within science, and an unprecedented level of co-operation in the battle against an unseen enemy. COVID has changed the way in which nations and institutions approach science. Within India, the scientific establishment has been at the forefront of enabling collaborations between different labs, and different sets of researchers working on the same problem from different angles. There is no reason why the world needs to revert to the older way of working. The need for scientists across the world collaborating to find solutions to common problems has been highlighted by the pandemic. And the efficiency with which they can collaborate has also been demonstrated. Research funders, including governments, of the world need to look at accelerating this.
The second major benefit that has been seen is the drop in environmental pollution. As the world locked down and economic activity ceased, so did pollution. Pollution due to air travel almost disappeared. Across the world we have all seen photographs of previously smog filled scenes transforming to clear skies. Delhi, for example, achieved satisfactory and good air quality, in a period of 3 weeks. Now, as economies come out of lockdown, and try and revive – it will be important to see how we can reduce our carbon footprint. How can we ensure that carbon emissions are lowered so that children in our countries don’t grow up anaemic?
The third has been a relook at the institution of the state itself. After almost 3 decades of neo-conservative dogma dominating the world stage, that advocated the diminishing role of the state in society, the realisation has finally struck, that you cannot side-line the state, and expect the market to deliver solutions to global problems. It is the state that has the authority, and the expanse to be able to affect the level of control and co-ordination that is required at times of a global or national emergency. The role of the state in both the economy, and in society is vital, and it needs to be empowered to deliver maximum benefits to the population.
And, finally, an idea on the margins for long, has come to the forefront. The need for a conversation around the roll out and the implementation of an Universal Basic Income. The pandemic has shown how fragile economies and livelihoods are. It shows how easy it is for individuals, families, and communities to slip from employed to unemployed, and from comfortable to poor. Nations had no choice but to implement a short term universal basic income. The United States of America, for example, looked at transferring up to $2000 per adult, during the pandemic; Canada put a similar amountinto the banks of its citizens. Spain offered €1000 to its poorest citizens. It needs to be seen how direct cash transfers becomes a norm. But the pandemic has shown us that it can be done.
While we build back, we need to build back better. And, building on the learnings from the COVID, would probably help us to move towards a better tomorrow. So, that when the next pandemic hits, we are better prepared.