Following the news that India has approved nearly US$2bn* towards ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’;

Sasmitha Sahu, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“The move comes as no surprise as the COVID-19 situation has seen some unprecedented decisions taken swiftly by the Indian government. This is to ensure that healthcare services are accorded the highest priority and they are upgraded on a war footing.

“Out of the total approved package, 50% of the funds will be used for immediate mitigation measures, including procurement of drugs, diagnostics, and medical devices and up gradation of existing healthcare infrastructure, on a war footing. Considering the novelty of the COVID-19 virus and the need for redefined responses relative to the continuously evolving situation, the rest of the funds will be used for the medium-term support under mission mode approach to ensure calibrated utilization of resources.

“An analysis of GlobalData’s COVID-19 dashboard reveals that India is likely to have 132,388 new cases of COVID-19 by 14 May 2020 in a low-risk transmission scenario.

“So far, India has managed to keep the COVID-19 curve moderately steep with its key response strategies like early lockdown and isolation measures. With the lockdown further extended, concrete funding will help strengthen the Indian healthcare infrastructure to synergistically contain the spread of the pandemic, manage active cases, as well as bolster India’s preparedness to fight any future pandemic.”