Over the past few years, Covid-19 has had a significant impact worldwide. While it may appear that the pandemic has subsided, the road to recovery remains testing, particularly for low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The experience of Covid-19 was shared at a webinar in fascinating details by different LMICs.
The webinar, hosted by Sajida Foundation titled “Covid Landscape in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs): Lessons Learned from Experience and Impact of Covid-19”, was divided into two plenary sessions highlighting the experience, impact and policy implications on Monday.
The sessions were chaired by Zarina Nahar Kabir, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society at Karolinska Institutet; and Ahmed Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury, PhD, Professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University and Adviser to the James P.Grant School of Public Health at Brac University.
Courtesy Speakers included Ahmed Jojan Nandonik and Asibul Islam Anik from SAJIDA Foundation, Dr. Tanvir Ahmed, Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, UK, Associate Professor Magen Mutepfa from the University of Botswana; Professor Shamini Prathapan from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka; Professor Indranil Mukhopadhyay from the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, India.
Speakers presented their research findings on the challenges of Covid-19 in LMICs from the perspectives of patients, healthcare providers, and family members, and discussed during and post-pandemic mental and physical health impact.
They also showcased findings on LMIC responses to the pandemic and shared lessons to be learned from the experience of a Bangladeshi NGO.
An interesting take away from the sessions was that although challenges faced during a pandemic, especially on mental health were quite similar among Botswana, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, the contributing factors were quite different.
The pandemic's impact and related restrictions have also raised widespread concerns, particularly with recent evidence showing an increase in mental health problems. LMICs with weak health systems have still been reported to struggle, and the prevalence of comorbidities has increased the risk of direct and indirect consequences of Covid-19 on populations.
It was evident from the webinar that a coordinated effort from different stakeholders from a very early stage is extremely crucial to tackle future pandemics, especially for LMICs including Bangladesh.
SAJIDA Foundation stands among those remarkable organizations that have dedicated themselves to the Covid-19 response since its inception, employing various interventions and conducting crucial research.
Learning from SAJIDA's experience, a framework has been proposed to prepare for future pandemic-like situations. The framework includes capability assessment, collaboration, compassionate leadership and clear communication.
This framework can be very useful for the policymakers, especially the government of low- and middle-income countries to provide stewardship by collaborating with NGOs for devising a response plan for something like a pandemic.