Reliable energy and responsive built environment: the missing links in COVID-19 response in resource-limited settings

Reliable energy and responsive built environment: the missing links in COVID-19 response in resource-limited settings

Arvind Vashishta Rinkoo, Dinesh Songara, Arnika Sharma, Biswa Ranjan Patnaik, Rajesh Ranjan Singh, Rakesh Kumar Srivastava

Abstract Irrespective of how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves over time across the globe, our past experiences with comparable zoonotic diseases demonstrate the significance of having resilient primary healthcare systems to successfully respond to public health emergencies. However, literature corroborates that in low- and middle-income countries, the primary healthcare systems are plagued with significant energy insecurity and inadequate built environment. These gaps in reliable energy and responsive built environment in primary healthcare systems are exacerbated during disruptive public health emergencies such as COVID-19. In this letter, we discuss the way forward to address these gaps and the policy and practical implications thereof.

2020

Low- and middle-income countries, covid-19, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, Built environment, energy insecurity

10.1186/s41182-020-00255-2

Epidemiology and Health

Korean Society of Epidemiology

Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine