by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
Frank F. Islam
By Frank F Islam
Driven by politics rather than science, Donald Trump took a set of reckless decisions. Here are 10 lessons
The United States (US), which has the most expensive health care infrastructure in the world, remains, by far, the country most affected by the coronavirus pandemic with more than 3.5 million cases and around 140,000 fatalities as of July 15. Sadly, more than six months after the onset of the pandemic, the US appears to be far from flattening the infections curve.
These problematic conditions were created by a seriously flawed response to Covid-19 from its initial identification until today. There were 10 major deficiencies, all of which provide lessons on what not to do.
One, decisions were made politically, rather than scientifically. This failure began at the top with President Donald Trump. He was initially dismissive of the coronavirus comparing it to the seasonal flu. He appointed Vice-President (V-P) Mike Pence to head a task force to advise on what to do but gave it no real authority.
Two, no national plan, backed by law, was devised to address the pandemic. The V-P’s task force developed guidelines for states and localities for testing, tracking and treatment of the virus; sheltering in place; and, the use of masks and social distancing to prevent its spread. These were only guidelines, not mandatory rules or law.
Three, the pandemic was treated as a state and local issue. There was no standardised federal intervention on the pandemic. The governors and local officials were made responsible for handling it. As a result, the approaches and results varied considerably from state to state.
Four, there was limited national access to testing, medical equipment and supplies. The federal government furnished a nominal amount of these, but the supplies and supply chain were woefully insufficient. The states were left to source these, and fought among themselves, to acquire these materials from overseas and private sources.
Five, there were mixed messages related to the pandemic. The task force held regular briefings until the country began to reopen and Trump essentially silenced it. He commandeered those briefings and used them to grandstand, argue with the press, contradict the medical experts, and even promote unproven drugs.
Six, there was a push towards a rapid reopening. Trump was always opposed to sheltering in place. He started suggesting considering reopening the country shortly after people started staying at home. He also tweeted to his millions of followers to liberate states such as Virginia and Michigan where he felt the governors might resist or be too slow in reopening. Trump appeared to be driven solely by his re-election possibilities, at the cost of public health.
Seven, reopening one part, based on relative success in another, ignored the nature of the disease. The original hotspots for the pandemic were primarily states and urban cities in the Northeast and Midwest and in California. By mid-May to early June, the spread was weakening in those locations and appeared to have peaked around the country. So states such as Georgia, Florida, Texas and Arizona moved ahead with relatively rapid re-opening. As a consequence, they became and are the new hot spots.
Eight, the US had no uniform enforcement mechanisms. The extent to which states enforced sheltering at home, wearing of masks and social distancing varied sharply. In some states such as Georgia and Texas with Republican governors and large cities with Democratic mayors, the governors only recommended these actions to battle Covid-19, while the mayors required them by law.
Nine, a misplaced prioritisation of economic concerns over health concerns. The reopenings were done almost solely to stimulate the economy which had cratered due to the pandemic. This had huge costs.
Ten, and perhaps most important, there has been the consistent rejection and discounting of expert advice. From the outset, Trump minimised the advice of experts such as internationally-renowned infectious disease and task force member Dr Anthony Fauci, and constructed his own alternative version of reality.
Overall and with a few exceptions in hard-hit states where individual governors demonstrated leadership, the US has managed Covid-19 reactively rather than proactively. A large part of this failure must be attributed to Trump who, after months of not wearing a mask, has only recently been seen in public wearing one, and who continues to insist that, at some point, the pandemic will just disappear.
Trump is a role model of what not to do personally, politically and professionally in response to a pandemic. His coronavirus playbook is a template for current and future national leaders on how not to fight a pandemic.
These are the primary lessons that India and other countries can learn from the US’ disastrous handling of this situation. India must pay heed, as cases are continuing to rise, indicating that possibly the toughest lockdown in the world did not yield the outcomes that had been anticipated. Sometime shortly, India will pass the grim milestone of one million cases to become the third nation to do so, after the US and Brazil.
That is bad news for India. There is a silver lining in the cloud though. That is because of its much lower fatality rate. Moreover, according to Indian government officials, 80% of active cases are from 49 of the country’s 720 districts, which mean a vast majority of the cases are restricted to less than seven per cent of the districts. By taking a targeted approach to testing, tracking and treatment to flatten the curve in these hot spots and ensuring no spread beyond these areas, the impact of the pandemic can be minimised going forward.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, News
Parents protesting in front of the gate Grace Ling Liang English School, Kolkata (Photo Maeeshat)
Maeeshat | Kolkata
Parents demonstrate before school demanding ‘justified’ fees in COVID-19 time demanding 50 percent waiver of tuition fees, parents of students of a private school in Kolkata intensified their protest on Monday. The demonstration was held at the entrance of Grace Ling Liang English School in South Kolkata.
“We protested today to demand that unjustified and irrational components of fees be suspended. Many parents are undergoing hardships because of the lockdown and the school authority are not reducing neither session fees nor tuition fees,” said Nilofer Khatoon, a parent.
There has been a series of protests in the past one month against hike in school fees in different parts of the city, and the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked private schools not to hike fees, considering the difficulties.
State Education minister Partha Chatterjee had also repeatedly asked private schools to refrain from increasing tuition fee and not charge fees under other heads in the present situation.
“The school authority is reluctant to talk with us regarding the school fee. They have deployed police officials to restrict us meeting the principal. We urge Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to tell school school authority not make extracurricular activities (ECA) mandatory and charge for stationery items till the school reopens and should consider waiver of session fees in this time of crisis,” said Rashid Parvez, another parent.
When Maeeshat correspondent met the school authority, a staff said, “The parents are making a fuss out of nothing. We are looking into the issue. The governing body will deal with it.”
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions, World
“The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of the nation, is close to the center of a nation’s purpose – and is a test to the quality of a nation’s civilization.” – John F. Kennedy
Frank F. Islam
By Frank F islam
COVID-19 put the arts industry to the test in ways not experienced in living memory. The pandemic shut down virtually every museum, library and performance venue across the United States and around the world. Despite this, the artists and others in the industry have remained steadfast in their commitment to sharing their craft with the world. Here in the U.S, museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City are conducting virtual tours. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where I was on the board, is providing daily Digital Stage offerings, including National Symphony Orchestra “NSO@Home”, Couch Concerts, Family Concert and other online programming. Artists of all types, from Yo-Yo Ma’s live streaming of Bach’s classic cello suites to Garth Brooks free on-line country music concert, have taken their shows digital too.
Internationally, Lady Gaga created a Global Citizens telethon with numerous performers and guests. In Italy, Andrea Bocelli sang his Music for Hope concert on Easter Sunday, and a violinist comes out on his balcony each evening to play for his neighbors listening from their balconies. The Smithsonian Magazine reports that street artists have painted murals and graffiti art on public spaces sending messages of hope in countries such as Spain, England and India.
The artists and their associates have given of themselves to fight against COVID-19 in inspiring and creative ways. They have been met in return by an outpouring of generosity.
In the U.S., the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act provided $75 million to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to provide grants to non-profit art organizations. The NEA and many others posted blogs listing organizations for artists to contact for resources and grants during the pandemic. States, local governments, philanthropic foundations and individual citizens stepped up to the plate and provided financial assistance as well.
Many of the U.S. philanthropic foundations such as Global Giving and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy have directed emergency funds at those in vulnerable communities located around the globe. This would obviously include “struggling artists”. And, sadly there are many of them, even in the best of times.
The charitable outpouring has been significant. Unfortunately, given the magnitude of the virus and the devastating effects around the world on health care, educational and economic systems of all nations, most economists and experts now agree that the recovery will be very slow – and especially slow for those who are self-employed or gig-workers in low paying jobs.
Many artists fall into this category. How can we sustain the support artists during these transitional times and provide them with a more solid foundation going forward after the Covid-19 pandemic has ended?
Lovers of the arts should engage in what I call purposeful philanthropy. Purposeful philanthropy is making investments directed at eliminating underlying social and economic problems and improving circumstances and conditions over time.
There are many avenues that can be taken to accomplish this. Here are a few ideas:
UNESCO, the cultural agency of the United Nations, has launched the ResilArt movement. This movement “among other things will consist of a series of global virtual debates with renowned artists and draw support from the cultural world throughout the crisis.” It will also develop guidelines that can be drawn upon to improve the protection of artists in the future.
Shovana Narayan writing for the South Asia Monitor in India observes that UNESCO in 1980 issued a resolution on the status of artists, which was a statement on the need to address the social security, labor and the tax conditions of the artists. She advocates taking actions to accomplish this in response to the pandemic. Philanthropists could embrace and support governments and groups advancing this inclusionary movement.
Another thing that philanthropists could do is join together in an international interconnected philanthropic network (IIPN) to finance the development and implementation of plans to fuel the recovery after the coronavirus. One element of those plans could be a focus on artists and art organizations. While an IIPN might seem a little far-fetched, the seeds for it already exist. For example, The Co-Impact global collaborative which includes donors such as Bill and Melinda Gates and the Rockefeller Foundation is focused on “system change to improve the lives of millions by advancing education, improving people’s health and providing economic opportunity.” Artists need this type of help.
Artists also need jobs. Recognizing this, one of the proposals that I have put forward to legislators here in the United States is the creation of a Civilian Coronavirus Corps (CCC).The CCC would be similar in nature to the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration Federal Arts Project, which produced more than 18,000 works of sculpture and posters during the Great Depression. This CCC in 2020 and for the next several years, until it would not be necessary, could provide jobs that create art of all forms: architecture, sculpture, painting, literature, music, film, performances and concerts in communities across this nation – and even mail art.
The need is great and the time to act is now. It is imperative for all of us who love the arts to discover our inner artist. For some, the artwork may consist of calling on your local officials to invest in the arts or perhaps its merely signing a check. For others, it may mean devoting the time and talent to finish an uncompleted painting or drawing upon a blank canvas to create innovative and collaborative ways to keep artists on the playing field.
Wherever that inner artist takes us, we will have passed the test of making a meaningful difference for those artists who are difference makers in terms of the culture of a country, the world and a civilized society.
—————————————————————————–
This post was first appeared on Meridian. Frank F Islam is a member of Meridian’s Cultural Diplomacy Leadership Council. Meridian is committed to implementing the arts and culture as an instrument to promote diplomacy and global leadership and exchange.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, News
Mumbai launches Mobile App to track the availability of Hospital ICU Beds and Ventilators
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has launched a mobile application “Air-Venti” to help residents in the city about the availability of the hospital ICU beds and Ventilators in the government and private hospitals around them.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the acute shortage of ventilators/BiPAPs for the ‘Respiratory Intensive Care Unit’ for severely ill patients. Valuable time is lost, and the patient’s lives are unnecessarily endangered. Even for patients willing to pay for the costs, a lot of times, relatives are left to fend for themselves running between multiple hospitals. This adds to severe mental trauma to close family and relatives.
The mobile app available to Android users, and shortly for iPhone, aims to provide overall statistics of ICU beds available, information on each government and private hospitals, and for each hospital, the total number of ICU beds and Ventilators, beds and Ventilators occupied and vacant, location map, ability to contact hospital through telephonic call and email.
Octaware Technologies Limited, in partnership with Probity Soft Pvt Ltd , has developed this mobile application and continue to maintain the availability of the data with a mobile backend app developed for the hospitals to update the ICU beds and Ventilators vacant status.
Mumbai is facing another challenge of shortage of Ventilators in ICUs. Currently, the city has approx. 5000 ICU Beds, but the number of ICU beds with Ventilators is just about 600. With COVID-19 impacting the respiratory system of patients, the rate of mortality is increasing due to a shortage of Ventilators in ICU. To address this challenge in a unique way, the “Air-Venti” mobile app aims to provide a platform like ‘Uber for Ventilators’ supplying Ventilators to the private hospitals through crowdsourcing funding from Individuals.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
GRAÇA MACHEL
By GRAÇA MACHEL
Noting that COVID-19 restrictions have resulted in an increase in domestic violence and a decrease in survivors’ access to justice, Graça Machel calls for the global epidemic of gender-based violence to be rooted out as boldly as we are tackling COVID-19. First published in The Guardian.
The COVID-19 pandemic is gifting us an unprecedented opportunity to take innovative action and comprehensively confront the scourge of violence against women.
We have a unique window where, as a human family, we are able to boldly address the social ills COVID-19 is unearthing, and redesign and rebuild our social fabric. As we undergo this process of self-examination, we must work to root out the global epidemic of gender-based violence as aggressively as we are tackling the pandemic itself.
The coronavirus lockdowns expose what many of us have known even before this pandemic – our most intimate spaces of the home are not always safe places. New research by UNFPA predicts that there will be at least 15 million more cases of domestic violence around the world in 2020 for every three months that lockdowns are extended as a result of restrictions to contain the virus.
A “pandemic within a pandemic” has been exposed and we are confronted with the horrific reality that millions of women and children — in every single country – are fighting for their survival not just from COVID-19, but from the brutalities of their abusers amid the prisons of their homes.
Studies indicate domestic violence has increased by upwards of 25% in numerous countries as a result of shelter-in-place measures.
At the same time, abuse survivors are facing limited access to protective services during periods of quarantine. It is no secret that pandemic restrictions have negative ramifications for adults and children already living with someone who is abusive or controlling, and mobility and access to support services are significantly constrained.
Most unfortunate is while the need for protection and survivor support is increasing, justice is proving even harder to access. Resources are being diverted away from judicial systems towards more emergent and immediate public health measures. In every corner of the globe, critical services, such as hotlines, crisis centres, shelters, as well as much needed legal aid and social services are being scaled back due to COVID-19 related infection control measures, as well as diversion of funding and attention. Many courts have closed their doors.
“Necessity is the mother of invention”, as the saying goes. And COVID-19 just may be the midwife we need to help birth the proverbial flattening of the gender-based violence curve. We have an unprecedented opportunity here for criminal justice systems to be completely overhauled to be more responsive and relevant in fighting gender-based violence.
A newly released UN Women report shows how countries from Kenya to Trinidad are supporting justice systems to continue to operate using remote technologies and other protective measures. In some countries, courts now are prioritising urgent interim orders, such as restraining orders or child maintenance orders. Australia’s family courts have fast-tracked all lockdown related cases to mitigate risk of violence.
Countries need to fund innovations that promote remote justice services, invest in helplines and other specialised justice and protection services, work with the private sector and create more channels for accessing justice, such as by collaborating with community-based paralegals and non-lawyer legal assistance initiatives. The time is ripe to address the lack of sensitivity around police case handling and medical care, court proceedings and sentencing, as well as rehabilitative support for both offenders and survivors. To strengthen access to justice, we need to support justice leaders such as by creating a virtual forum for justice ministers to share best practice and highlight urgent needs.
There are many impressive practical initiatives around the world that are taking steps to lessen the dangers women face at the hand of her abusers. Countries such as Spain and France have created emergency warning systems in supermarkets and pharmacies to offer counselling and help with reporting of abuses. Canada is keeping shelters open and earmarking resources in their relief bill, categorising them as essential services. Out of a necessity for more shelters, 20,000 hotel rooms for survivors will be paid for in France. Police in Odisha, India have implemented a Phone-Up Programme, where police officers check up on women who previously filed reports of domestic violence before the lockdown. These innovative approaches need to go beyond the confines of singular borders, be adapted for local contexts and replicated at scale globally.
The innovation and resilience of grassroots justice groups continues to give me hope in these dark times. They too are on the frontlines, leading rights awareness campaigns, adapting to deliver legal advice remotely and ensuring disadvantaged groups are not overlooked.
As the global community mobilises funding for response and reconstruction, financing for civil society organisations should be built into financing mechanisms from the start. The United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund for COVID-19 Response and Recovery has pledged to work in partnership with civil society. It must follow through and offer fast, flexible financing not only to community health initiatives, but also to civil society groups.
Social media is another powerful weapon at our disposal. Bold advocacy and awareness campaigns should become a common feature on our TV and phone screens.
We have been presented the opportunity to reimagine and redesign our societies into safe, vibrant and equitable ones. We are proving that we can come together as a united human family to holistically tackle COVID-19; let us apply an equally comprehensive, vigorous and unrelenting focus to eradicating gender-based violence as well.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
GRAÇA MACHEL is the International advocate for women’s and children’s rights; former freedom fighter and first Education Minister of Mozambique.
