As we are sitting in the middle of the #lockdown, discussing our fear and uncertainty now and beyond due to the #pandemic, we being a primary healthcare organization, suddenly want to understand where did the public healthcare screw it up?
With less than 1per cent of India’s GDP spending on public health, today the global health crisis has given rise to a warlike situation much bigger than the ‘World War’ as said by the Hon’ble #Prime Minister, Mr. Modi.
As the world is praying hard to get the vaccine & medicines as fast as possible, but can anyone guarantee a vaccine in the next 1 month or tackle similar threats in the next 50 or 100 years?
Collectively it is time to shoulder the responsibility and put across a collective effort that can change the mindset of decision-makers, where public health is given equal weightage and due importance as going to Mars, and which is urgent because the world will not escape these deadly Microbes!
In a lockdown situation, we feel someone has taken away our freedom, our hopes and aspirations, arousing the fear of smiling at each other, shake hands or giving a tight hug…lingers the only fear of catching the COVID -19. I doubt that even when everything is back to normal, the fear psychosis will still remain in our head and in our hand 
And everything together zeroes down to one crucial point, why is Public healthcare nobody’s business?
Well, it might not look as eye-catching as any e-commerce business promoting comforts over basic needs, making lifestyles more glamorous than wellbeing, but it wants to make us understand, and pay attention to what we all have missed so far…or bringing back the lives of more than 15,303 lives we lost for COVID.
In the past 7-8 years, I have attended more than 180 plus conferences, speakers of 100 plus events & zillions of people who tried to push for robust public healthcare initiatives. But many gave a skirmish smile, with a passing remark – Public healthcare is the Government’s business & we should leave it to them. Really, Can you say that now!
While everybody strives to build better healthcare infrastructure, but the core components of healthcare have continued to work in silos, be it research, Medtech & Hospitals work in silos. If we continue this way who knows another pandemic will just wipe out clean. Investors give more interest in rideshare, Vehicle share, bicycle share, office space share…. good thing! But give some importance to health also!
A cartoon read “What were you doing in 2020? I see a Gap! Sir, I was washing my hands!”
Banging utensils may give a good vibe & bring out the depression & may motivate health workers & police for a moment, but aah! that won’t kill microbes. We need a well-coordinated approach, planning, and resources much bigger than facing a war where we cannot see our enemy. One of our stakeholders Dr. Rahul Verma asked how ##iKure could stand up to such a current situation & beyond.
Let us think hard what all we can and could do to prevent or minimize such eventualities in the future. This global crisis definitely want us to prioritize #Healthcare over anything else and iKure has always been a frontrunner on Prevention, Awareness, Research, Healthtech, and to play a crucial role in shaping the public healthcare system in years to come.
Public Healthcare will be no more non-negotiable and healthcare will lead the priority lists of investors, stakeholders and Governments.
Let us all rise to this occasion, like true fighters!
Sujay Santra, Founder, Ashoka Fellow, iKure
