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Is health politically irrelevant? Experimental evidence during a global pandemic
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  • Published on: 18 November 2020
    Need to generate data to make health politically relevant
    • Shaffi Fazaludeen Koya MBBS, MPH, Research Analyst Boston university school of public health, USA
    • Other Contributors:
      • K Rajasekharan Nayar MCH, PhD, Professor
      • S Sadasivan Lal MBBS, MPH, PhD, Professor

    Arnab and colleagues reported the findings from their research study in India, UK, and the USA that politicians are unlikely to be punished or rewarded for their failures or successes in managing COVID-19 in the next election. (1) By early September, India came only next to the US in terms of COVID 19 burden. Officially, India collects and reports data in terms of geographical variations, disaggregated by age and sex. India also reports the count of deaths among patients with and without comorbidities. However, none of the States report COVID 19 data disaggregated by social determinants, primarily castes and wealth quintiles, which are the most important determinants from an Indian perspective.

    The caste system in India is a ‘disabling myth’ which contributes to preventable and inequitable mortality in women and children.(2) Globally, COVID 19 has once again exposed the vulnerability of disadvantaged groups due to ongoing social discrimination and economic deprivation.(3) Emerging data shows that the racial minorities in the US are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Data shows that Non-Hispanic Blacks have five times the risk of hospitalization compared to non-Hispanic Whites (age-adjusted) and Hispanic and Latinos have 4 times the risk compared to non-Hispanic Whites.(4,5) However, realizing the importance of having more accurate data to understand the impact of COVID 19, foundations and agencies came forward to support and set-up mechanisms to track rac...

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    Conflict of Interest:
    None declared.