The Case for Universal Responses to Crises of Humanity

Livemint     24th September 2020     Save    

Context: We must study behavioural traits common to all humans for solutions to problems like our pandemic.

Key Reason for the Spread of Pandemic: 

  • By product of Globalization: Due to the increased travel, the virus spread quickly.

Management of the pandemic

  • Localized efforts, Not done at a global level:  Different countries had different ways of dealing with the pandemic
  • For E. g. - Taiwan managed it at a country level while in India, most of the pandemic management was delegated to state governments. 
  • Countries like the United States did very little at the national level.
  • Responsibility to manage the pandemic was left to the state leadership.
  • Collaboration in efforts to develop a vaccine: Health experts from various countries, pharmaceutical companies and universities around the world came together. 

Stages in managing a Pandemic

  • Understanding the problem and Developing solutions: Understanding the problem and developing solutions should be done at the global level
    • This approach is based on understanding the behavioural aspects of the people involved and then developing a solution
    • Case Study: 
        • For, E.g. An analysis of accidents suffered by railway-track trespassers in Mumbai found that the human brain underestimates the speed of incoming objects.
        • As part of the solution, a series of track sleepers in the train'strain's path were intermittently painted yellow to act as a visual reference of its oncoming speed.
      • It makes sense to look for similarities and then search for differences. This is because Human behaviour tends to be similar across the globe.
      • For. E.g.  Even during the COVID crisis, there were many commonalities of behaviour across countries like people across the world showed reluctance to adopt new social protocols like wearing masks.
    • Implementing the solutions and monitoring the same:  Implementation and monitoring are always best managed at the local level.

    Conclusion: A global approach to understanding the problem and developing solutions is more efficient than each country trying to find its own solution.