Covid taught us five lessons for future

Source: The post Covid taught us five lessons for future has been created, based on the article “Five years on, five lessons from Covid lockdowns” published in “Indian Express” on 22nd March 2025. Covid taught us five lessons for future.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper3- Disaster and disaster management.

Context: March 2025 marks five years since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. The global health crisis exposed serious vulnerabilities in how the world manages large-scale disasters. As new threats loom, the article reflects on five key lessons from the pandemic to better prepare for future emergencies.

For detailed information on 7 Lessons From The Pandemic read this article here

Five Covid Lessons

1. Global Problems Need Global Solutions
   • Many disasters, like pandemics or tsunamis, transcend borders. Isolating a country is not a viable strategy. Instead, there is a need for global systems to monitor and manage risks.

• However, the pandemic weakened international cooperation. For instance, the U.S. withdrew from WHO and closed down the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning System.
• Despite these setbacks, new efforts like India’s genomic dataset offer hope for stronger global collaborations, with India well-positioned to lead.

2. Solutions Must Be Locally Relevant
   • During global emergencies, countries prioritize their own citizens. For example, during vaccine shortages, countries without local manufacturing suffered. India was better prepared due to its own vaccine production. Local conditions also matter.

• Social distancing worked in open spaces but failed in densely populated slums. In Dharavi, 50% of residents had antibodies within five months, compared to 15% in non-slum areas.
• Hence, resources like masks and ventilators should be targeted to high-prevalence areas.

3. Build Systems Before Disaster Strikes
   • India avoided mass starvation due to its strong Public Distribution System. However, emergency cash transfers were limited to those with existing accounts like PM-KISAN or Jan Dhan.

• The lockdown could have been used to strengthen health systems. For example, a centralised oxygen database could have helped in better coordination.
• Planning and system readiness across all government levels are critical to effective disaster response.

4. Data Is Crucial for Governance
   • During the migrant crisis, visuals showed people fleeing cities, but there was no data on how many were affected. The absence of a recent census worsens the problem.

• Globally, distrust in data grew during the pandemic, as seen in the U.S. shutting vaccine hesitancy studies. Governments need to treat data as a governance tool, not a threat.

5. Trust in Government Is Essential
   • Emergency decisions often involve uncertainty. Successful implementation depends on public trust.

• During the lockdown, 85% in Delhi-NCR supported it just because the government said it was necessary. Even years later, nearly 80% across India agreed it was the right decision.
• Yet, global trends show that such trust is fragile and must be nurtured for unity during future crises.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed global, national, and local gaps in disaster response. Learning from these five lessons—global cooperation, local relevance, preemptive planning, data-driven governance, and public trust—is crucial for future resilience.

Question for practice:

Discuss the key lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that can help improve future disaster preparedness and response.