Bhubaneswar (Kalinga Voice) : After the UN appreciated Odisha’s disaster management, WHO now appreciates Odisha’s response to COVID-19 for Early start, Setting up one of the biggest COVID health facility in-country, Expanding the surveillance to trace SARI cases,Testing strategy, Patient care(6)Leveraging technology, and above all Managing the huge influx of migrants during this pandemic situation.
World Health Organisation has praised Odisha’s effective governance & community-based strategies to fight against COVID19. WHO has highlighted the early containment measures, dedicated covid hospitals, ramped up testing and decentralised management of the pandemic through GPs. World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia (SEARO) in its tweer handle has praised the effort of Odisha Government in a story titled “From governance to community resilience: Odisha’s response to COVID-19”
The story says “Odisha, known for its track record of efficiently handling natural disasters, including the recent cyclone, the state has managed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic quite efficiently. As of 24 June 2020, the state recorded an impressive recovery rate of 69.4%, and the mortality rate of just 0.29%, which is one of the best in the country. With cyclone AMPHAN hitting the state amidst the pandemic, evacuating the stranded people safely while adhering to social distancing measures was challenging but the state’s experience in disaster management helped in managing the situation. Effective governance in collaboration with Panchayati Raj Institutions and community-based response strategy enabled the resilient state to contain the spread of the virus. The state’s COVID-19 management strategy offers important insights that kept the caseload low despite the huge influx of migrants.”
“The state was the first in the country to initiate strict measures. The Chief Minister ordered an immediate closure of many public places on 13 March, even though the state had not reported a single case of COVID-19. When the first case was reported on 15 March, the state control rooms had been made operational; and capacity building of the district level health officials on preparedness and response activities, and public awareness campaigns on handwashing and respiratory etiquettes were already initiated.
WHO praises the Effective governance, Setting up one of the biggest COVID health facility in the country, assessment of the health facilities, effective monitoring, Expanding the surveillance to trace Influenza-like Illnesses (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illnesses (SARI) cases, Testing strategy, Patient care, Telemedicine services, , managing the huge influx of migrants, capacity Building, ‘mentoring support to program’ initiative, The decentralized approach in collaboration with Gram Panchayats, financial incentives and Involvement of Self-help Groups- Mission Shakti in the fight against corona .
The repost says ” The government has continuously kept its focus on reducing morbidity and mortality. As of 28 June, the state has one of the lowest case fatality or death rate in comparison to the international and national figures. Early lockdown, setting up the country’s first dedicated COVID-19 hospital, the temporary medical camps to manage the huge influx of migrants, multisectoral collaboration, community-based disaster management, community engagement and mentoring support programs are some of the key takeaways of the Odisha’s response strategy that have contributed to Odisha’s success in tackling the pandemic. Going forward the need is to sustain the efforts while continuing the collaborative approach with the local leadership and the self-help groups.
