India - How the government's pandemic response caused more deaths

This video is part of a monthly series on the securitisation of health. Watch all videos here:    • Alternative visions of global security  

Why did the pandemic spiral out of control in India? Why did some states see many more people dying than others? The central government’s authoritarian measures, badly planned and highly restrictive lockdowns, structural inequality and many forms of discrimination drastically increased the death toll and suffering of the Indian people, argues Sulakshana Nandi in this interview. She also discusses India’s unequal vaccination rollout and how the public and private healthcare sectors differed in pandemic management. Finally, she explains what an alternative health care system in India could look like.

Sulakshana Nandi is the co-chair of the Global Steering Council of the People’s Health Movement in India. Based in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, she is involved in research, capacity building, and advocacy on issues related to health equity and access, and public policy and programmes for health and nutrition, with a focus on gender and vulnerable and indigenous communities. Arun Kundnani is a TNI associate and author of The Muslims are Coming! Islamophobia, extremism, and the domestic War on Terror.

00:00 - India’s pandemic death toll
07:02 - What are India’s lockdown policies?
15:08 - What is the vaccination situation in India?
20:17 - Why did the pandemic have a disproportionate impact on poor and marginalised people?
25:39 - What were the roles of the private and public sector during the pandemic?
32:09 - What is the People’s Health Movement working on? What are alternatives to the current system?

Learn more:

Transnational Institute - www.tni.org
People's Health Movement - https://phmovement.org/

#india #lockdown #pandemic #healthcare

Editor: Josh Akinwumi
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