Aug

11

New swine in old bottle

August 11, 2009 posted by indiatime |

Most Indian media are today abuzz with swine flu activity in and around the government and public circles. Since yesterday, India’s health minister Azad has been seen busy, coordinating a national health disaster management. Still, it is a matter of great shame and surprise to most, how India has bungled this one up.

It was well over a few months ago that we heard of screening at India’s international airports, and quarantines for suspected swine flu patients. All that precaution, seemed to stem the tide, for a while. For just a little while that is. The government officials and the public health experts in India, imagined that this was a disaster avoided. Hardly. Swine flu seems to have come back with a vengeance and it seems to have adapted itself to the Indian climate, and now has gotten comfortable with India’s hospitality and warmth.

One would think we would have learnt the lessons after seeing a dozen deaths across the country in a matter of a few dozen hours. Ha! India’s Health minister was upto the old Indian politician trick today, telling the Indian press how India has handled it better than USA and UK. “…They’ve had so many deaths, we haven’t…”, he opined. Although statistically and numerically accurate, his statement shows his ignorance and inexperience in handling disasters of this kind, and that is a very scary fact. For the health minister and his team, may have wasted precious time during last several weeks, focusing their attention on other much less important matters than a worldwide pandemic that everyone knew would soon come to India. And whenever he was hard pressed for answers, the minister’s response was that ‘health is a state subject..”.

If health is indeed a state subject, then what is the need to have a health ministry in New Delhi? Why don’t we just shut down the central health ministry and save us some Rupees that are needlessly spent in supporting a department that has no work and no job except to make suggestions about public policies?

But that’s not going to be much comfort, either. The state level health departments are full of even stupider morons who can’t seem to produce an intelligent monosyllable. As of this moment, Maharashtra government’s health department’s website fails to make even a mention of swine flu. And even if they did decide to wake up, what would they do? The health ministry of that state, which is currently the epicenter of the swine flu, declares these to be important objectives :

6 To improve the maintenance of buildings

7 To implement various national health programmes

8 To give health education for improving knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the community.

Look who’s improving whose behavior and attitude?


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4 Comments so far

  1. KD on August 12, 2009 5:02 am

    True mettle of the leader is shown in crisis.
    And indian leaders have all shown that they are not at par with the job requirements. Cabnet in India is made purely to pacify the region/party or individual, it is never on the abilities.
    The scale of flu is totally underestimated by the leaders. Once it reaches slums it will be a monster.
    Jago Jago Jago

  2. Swine Flu H1N1 Maharashtra govt.’s health department’s website fails to make even a mention of swine flu on August 12, 2009 5:35 pm

    [...] Source :Its IndiaTime [...]

  3. Swine flu H1N1 - Will swine flu survive the October Heat ? H1N1’s days in India are limited. on August 13, 2009 3:23 pm

    [...] Source :Its IndiaTime [...]

  4. Ask A Doctor on September 1, 2009 3:49 pm

    I think the swine flu issue is over hyped by the media. there are lot more diseases like malaria and yellow fever which cause more deaths and are more lethal

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