Thread by @AnantBhan

Lancet Citizens' Commission on Reimagining India's Health System
India's resurgence of COVID-19: urgent actions needed
thelancet.com/journals/lance…

First, the organisation of essential health services must be decentralised. A one-size-fits-all approach is untenable since the numbers of COVID-19 cases and health services differ substantially from district to district

Second, there must be a transparent national pricing policy and caps on the prices of all essential health services—eg, ambulances, oxygen, essential medicines, and hospital care.

Third, clear, evidence-based information on the management of COVID-19 must be more widely disseminated and implemented.

Fourth, all available human resources across the health system, including the private sector, must be marshalled for the COVID-19 response and adequately resourced, particularly with sufficient PPE, guidance on use of clinical interventions, insurance,& mental health support.

Fifth, central systems to procure and distribute COVID-19 vaccines free of cost should be established in a departure from the current policy of decentralised procurement through state governments.

Sixth, community engagement and public participation must lie at the heart of India's COVID-19 response. Grassroots civil society has historically had a crucial role in people's participation in health care and other development activities, such as in Mumbai

Seventh, there must be transparency in government data collection and modelling to enable districts to proactively prepare for the likely caseloads in the coming weeks.

Finally, the profound suffering and risk to health caused by loss of livelihoods should be minimised by making provisions for cash transfers by the state to workers in India's vast informal economy who have lost their jobs, as is being done by some state governments.