Khanmi Kasomva
The land scapes of socio-economic balance and world politics have changed unprecedentedly with COVID-19, as a serious public health disaster in our lifetime. The health care management is struggling all around the world, to fight this battle. This public health catastrophe has a significant effect on patients suffering from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiovascular disease among others. In most of the health care facilities and institutions, the number of the people who needed treatment with cases of NCDs could not be attended. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) survey conducted in 155 countries, the health care ecosystem has been disrupted by hypertension (53%), diabetes and diabetes-related complications (49%), cancer (42%) and cardiovascular emergencies (31%).WHO further estimated that half of the countries affected by healthcare services were primarily due to shortage of healthcare staffs arising from reassignments for COVID-19 diagnostics, treatment, medication and filling other technological requirements. The most affected countries are low-income countries. According to the World Bank, many African countries are reeling under recession while not glossing over the struggle for economic offsets in South Asian countries4. Everyone is still taking a cautious action to control the virus (COVID-19).
This situation will not ease until success fultherapeutic or prophylactic control steps are put in place. But most of the challenges or struggles in the health service will continue. In order to support patients with NCDs or other case and need for screening, there is perhaps a greater responsibility on the part of the authority institutions which calls for a need to update or restructure the health care system to ease the health service and economic burden. Because each NCD case is different from the individual, physicians need to advise their patients about the chances and choices of care, the pros and cons of stopping or continuing treatment as planned. The use of the health service could increase the exposure of the virus to NCD patients, as data shows every day in our newsletters. This disruption of health service reduced or lost the opportunity to diagnose or treat patients in the available health care facilities. It also hinders the supply of essential medical requirements to NCD patients. The restructuring of the health care system also includes the health care staff for all the necessary measures, from the testing to psychological support. While redesigning the health care system, the competent authority (Government) can give priority to improving the facilities of primary health care centre and district hospital, this could help to reduce the exposure of patients to the virus as well as ease the economic burden for the society. The on-going pandemic has shown us the significance of the restructuring of the health care system and the value of biomedical research.
Similar to the disruption of the health service of patients with NCDs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and knowing the seriousness of the reformation of the health care system, it may be hard to deny the ubiquitous political crisis today in Naga society. Age-long Naga land was living in a village republic and practice head hunting among us, where Naga villagers or tribes could not foresee anything outside the village or tribe. Who would have thought that our forefather was going to learn education and receive the Gospel, but God sent Reverend Edward Winter Clark and Reverend William Pettigrew to enlighten the Nagas through the Gospel. The Gospel transformed the world of Naga’s civilization strengthening the society in many respects. But today, Nagas are divided and disunited in all spheres of life, and we could not withstand petty differences among ourselves leave alone the perceived adversarial challenges. Some people appear to bear the brunt of the disunity while many are impatient. The Nagas can’t wait, just as we’re waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine or therapy for prevention and treatment.
There had been several conspiracies about the beginning of the virus behind Covid-19. But in order to overcome the health crisis, one may ask if knowing where the virus actually originated matters? In the blame game, narrowing down the origin may allude to a zero-sum game. Instead, if there is a will to overcome the dreadful challenge, we better plan to build a robust health care system collaborating with one another or build bridges in our political system, so to say. If it was possible to perpetuate the Kerunyki; the listening house, by our elders, it is still possible that we learn from one another. Perhaps the colossal political conundrum calls for the diverse professionals to come along cutting across ethnicity to reason together just like the Covid-19 holds ransom to doctors, economist, and politicians alike.
The writer is a Post-doctoral researcher at School of Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
