Impact of COVID19 to Community

Supporting government response through innovative partnerships

Governments around the world have taken a range of macroeconomic

measures to cope with the pandemic, providing tax incentives and cash grants
to firms, tax rebates to households, cutting interest rates and launching
lending schemes and Quantitative Easing programmes.

Global shocks require a global response. As no country has the fiscal capacity
to stand alone, an inter-governmental response network should be explored to
expand intensive care capacity in areas close to refugee communities. This
can be done by repurposing underused buildings as Intensive Care Units
where available, supporting the retooling of underutilized manufacturing
capacity towards intensive care equipment, or by recalling medical staff out of
retirement. Random testing pockets of asymptomatic communities in
vulnerable settings would also help ensure that the most exposed don’t fall
victim to a second wave of infection.

   How can we collaborate to stop the spread of COVID-19?

Governments cannot work alone in responding to the crisis on behalf of

vulnerable communities; they need the support of the private sector now more
than ever. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) often produce innovative
solutions to pressing global health issues that are more than the sum of their
parts.

They can aid in the quick development of work by bringing together the best of
what the public and private sectors have to offer, merging expertise from
different sectors, driving innovative diagnostic approaches and making
resources available that can be used to aid the fight against these emerging
threats.

Have you read?

 The economic effects of COVID-19 around the world

 How big business is joining the fight against COVID-19

A number of private companies have stepped up efforts to address the spread

of COVID-19 with innovative ways to communicate preventative measures
and symptoms to the wider public. Customizing the use of existing
technologies for the benefit of exposed communities makes sense. An
example is the PPP that Hikma Pharmaceuticals formed with the Ministry of
Health in Jordan to fund a dedicated COVID-19 hotline offered through a
digital health platform connecting millions of users with licensed and certified
doctors in real-time for free medical consultation and advice related to the
spread of disease.

Tools such as those developed by Bluedot, a Toronto-based digital health

company that uses AI to detect the spread of the pandemic, could be scaled
up and exploited to better inform predictions of an outbreak in select refugee
camps. Veredus Laboratories, a Singapore-based biotech company, could be
incentivized to provide its newly developed portable Lab-on-Chip detection kit
to vulnerable communities to enable a fast and portable detection solution.
With the proper license to operate, companies such as Flirtey – a US-based
drone delivery firm – could be leveraged to deliver suveillance and medical
test kits, food, medicine and water to particularly vulnerable populations.

Such solutions would require governments to give incentives to the

companies involved in producing specialized equipment needed for COVID-19
detection and treatment in fragile contexts and to promote partnerships that
devote time and resources towards preparedness and relief for the most
vulnerable. Finally, an old English proverb finds itself particularly relevant.
“Necessity is the mother of invention”.

This type of innovation and flexibility in responding to the crisis can play a key
role in the fight against the spread of diseases in vulnerable communities,
providing access to medical consultation at this critical time but without the
burden of healthcare costs.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis that brings with it a lot of

problems, especially for the poor and marginalized sectors of our society. Those who
have the least financial and other means have the hardest time dealing with the
pandemic’s impacts on health and health services, loss of income, limited mobility
and other struggles.

This crisis is challenging us, as a species, to bring about an increased sense of our
humanity, community and compassion.

As governments, international health agencies and local officials struggle to contain

the global infection and its effects, we also see citizens and communities coming
together in support of each other, especially for the frontliners and sectors who are
experiencing the most difficulty.

With the enforcement of a Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine,

communities are struggling to find their next meals, due either to loss of income or
access to food sources, or a combination of both. But some chefs and other concerned
citizens have set up various community kitchens and food programs to try and ease a
bit of the burden.