Question

1. Global Pandemic Risk Management. (550 words) This crisis (corona virus) has revealed some very poor risk management by governments worldwide. Make a list of 5 recommendations to governments to ensure that we are never caught off-guard like this again. Do some research and learn why some countries have fared much better than others. Use them as examples.

Answer 1

Solution -

Pandemic Risk Management in today's condition with the outbreak of corona virus has exposed many government facilities and has highlighted the requirements of certain facilities and critical necessary features that need to be present to manager such pandemic situations.

The 5 major aspects that a government should take care of to ensure the effective management of pandemic situations should be as follows -

1. Medical Infrastructure - This is a very important aspect that requires to be addressed as medical infrastructure which is the number of patient beds and quarantine areas along with necessary medical attendants. The other aspect is the availability of medicines and necessary equipment. This can be easily targeted if the government has control over such indutries and is able to step-up production in such circumstances as and when required. The best example is China which stepped in and used its manufacturing leadership to increase the medical infrastructure manifold with the spread of this disease. Italy on the other hand suffered due to the lack of optimum medical facilities.
2. Distribution Channel - The government must invest to establish a strong distribution channel which can reach out throughout the nation and lead to easy supply in times of pandemic. During corona virus scare there has been a massive lockdown in many nations and it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that people do not scamper for bare necessities. Spain is an example which struggled in this aspect and it lead to massive breakdown of rules as general public had to struggle for bare necessities. This lead to a further spread in the pandemic. The government came up with some crude distribution network but on the other hand Canada leveraged it's distribution channels to the fullest and is observing a long lockdown without such issues.
3. Economic Restructure - This is where the government needs to be proactive. In pandemic situations there is a major breakdown in terms of business activity and employment. The government should ensure that it has maintained certain reserves to cater to the affected people in such situations. This aspect keeps up the motivation of the people and the revival of the economy in the aftermath of such situations become easier and also bearable for the masses. American Economy has been a front-runner in this regard and even though their major cities have been under massive breakdown yet the economic packages are keeping the country afloat.
4. Awareness Program - Government must heavily invest in awareness programs which can educate the citizens on the do's and don'ts during such situations. This can lead to less panic among people and also ensure curbing of such pandemic situations at a much faster rate. The awareness of such pandemic situations will put less pressure on government machinery and would allow the resources available to be deployed much effectively and efficiently. The awareness programs launched by Spain and India are really effective where they have leveraged their digital media to spread the message on the pandemic conditions and how the people must react and ensure proper management. This has also allowed these nations to slow down the rate of spread of this pandemic condition.
5. Lifestyle Management - The government must ensure to manage the people lives in terms of their lifestyle as it becomes difficult during a pandemic to curtail certain malpractices during such pandemic. The Middle-East countries have a large labour population which stays in a manner far below the hygiene standards of the global ecosystem. This leads to a difficult situation during pandemic conditions and also this leads to a higher probability of mass spread. The government must be proactive in providing for such communities so that a community spread scare is dealt with ease.

The above steps will ensure that pandemic situations can be easily managed and the government has enough resources to provide the people with necessary requirements during such crisis.