Earth planet is upset and convulsed at the guerrilla attacks and blazes of an invisible infectious disease smaller than bacteria titled Coronavirus, also identified as COVID-19 by WHO, which has in the interim confirmed worldwide 4.3 million cases with at least more than 300000 deaths and 1.7 million recoveries. First defined in detail in the 1960s, the coronavirus gets its name from a distinctive Latin corona, meaning ‘Crown’ of sugary-proteins, that project from the envelope surrounding the particle.

Concerning the dawns of Coronavirus, COVID 19, two propositions are imperious here one is Coronavirus is just a kind of recurring punishments from Allah, Creator of universes, visible and invisible, and other being a non-natural biological maneuver made at a laboratory for definite purposes, which might have been leaked due to faulty handling therein.

 If the former prevails over the later then we have no choice but to offer prayers to Allah time after time and take fresh vow to overhaul, rectify, sanctify and galvanize ourselves from respective beliefs and standpoints. In that case, human efforts, Himalayan or Oceanic, appear cumbersome since there cannot be a battle opposing Allah. Coronavirus shall say goodbye to the world only after its assigned targets have been fulfilled. This departure may either be auto or through human devices in the form of medicines and vaccinations and so on provided Allah wish so. Allah's punishment is time-bound as evidenced from the past occurrences, notably contained in the numerous religious texts, scriptures and documents of the earth planet.

Also read: Proper action plan needed for post-coronavirus economic regime: Experts

 In case of the later that is alternative proposition, sufferings shall continue sine die, not time-bound, because such device shall be used as weapon against the opponent(s). Atom bombs were used in world war two by US in an attempt to put an end to commanding Japan. Chemical weapons were used in Iraq and Syria in recent past. Here the moot point is supremacy of power over one or few or all. America is proud of ‘American dream’; India feels delighted with ‘India doctrine’ even Bangladesh is desperate to move with ‘Bangladesh dream’, also called “Sonar Bangla". And China with a dazzling history of 5000 years is also advancing fast with “China dream (Xiantia). Hegel opined that "leaderships of the world move from one center to another in the context of time, space and dimension". It is widely publicized that the 21st century belongs to Asia and WB, IMF, ADB are of the views that China shall take the chair in the end by 2050. Such projections conform to China dream to get implemented by 2050. On all counts, ball is rolling towards China.

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown pits economic, health concerns

Question arises, is China behind inventing such coronavirus to be used as ‘invisible weapon’ to reach its goal by 2050? Few states prominently US President Donald Trump stick to this proposition avowedly, even going further he identified the virus as ‘Wuhan virus’, a pejorative term indeed. He also threatened China to face portentous feedbacks. Charging WHO for carrying china’s purposes, Trump meanwhile suspended funding WHO. If truth be told, Coronavirus hit US mind-bogglingly causing increasing confirmed cases, deaths and recoveries without a day break. As of today, there we find 1.5 confirmed cases, 90,897 deaths and 300000 recoveries.

China vehemently opposed such uncorroborated allegations. Real picture is not clear at all because UK and French scientists recently detected the origins in French. These may be fallacious in the end. Whatever the arguments and counter arguments look like, crude reality tells, world is currently being hunted by pandemic coronavirus.

Also read: Bangladesh well-placed among emerging economies to deal with virus aftermath

COVID-19 is faced with three acute landscapes, namely necessity, reality and dilemma. On the one hand social distancing and physical distancing must move together and if a need arises, lockdown is inevitable since it is the best method so far. If these two or three modes go together, instantly arise the questions of having food and other necessaries simultaneously, which give birth to a kind of ’horns of dilemmas eventually. Such a dilemma is so acute that makes the lockdown sooner or later a futile exercise. Developed states have shown excellence mostly but the situation in developing countries are not so promising. Difference is, they are following models strictly whereas in developing countries like Bangladesh the models are not working well due to reasons, mostly social, economic and religious in particular. Above all, shortage of PPEs and Test Kits, heart of the WHO’s message ‘test, test, test’ made the overall scenarios most distressing. Landscapes have become graver at the overall closures leading to collapses of economic activities and frames across the world. In such bewildering situations, policy-makers, leaders and statesmen, at the denial of valued experts’ opinions, are desperately experimenting loose-lockdown or no-lockdown, but sad it is that consequences typically end in reappearance of COVID-19. Europe and USA bear glaring examples.

Also read: Exit strategies needed for sustainable economic recovery: Experts

Post-coronavirus global landscapes, to be sure, shall not stay the same. Several changes in the form of reforms, reshuffles, restructures and remodels fall upon, compelling or not, the hemispheres of economics, science and technology, politics, administration, industries, trade and commerce, transports and so forth. Social unrests, chaos and disorders may turn violent positioning democracies at peril necessarily. All sorts of predictions, published or being published are mostly revolve around the likelihood of inflation to recession to depression, if not going up to stagflation so early. GDPs both statewide and worldwide by this time started falling decidedly. World Health Organization forecast the inescapability of famine causing deaths from hunger of millions of people in the densely populated areas mostly in developing countries.

World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley told the U.N. Security Council in April ’821 million people go to bed hungry every night all over the world, a further 135 million people are facing “crisis levels of hunger or worse,” and a new World Food Program analysis shows that as a result of COVID-19 an additional 130 million people “could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020. He also added, as the world is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, it is also “on the brink of a hunger pandemic” that could lead to “multiple famines of biblical proportions” within a few months if immediate action isn’t taken’. TechNavio. a UK-based research and advisory company that focuses on providing a market research, trends, analysis and reports to various industries, suggests three forecast scenarios optimistic, probable, and pessimistic considering the impact of COVID-19.

Also read: Coronavirus: Experts for prudent economic recovery plan for Bangladesh

To tackle all these meaningfully and demonstratively, management, leaderships and, to say more aggressively statesmanship are conditions precedent. Therefore, it is time to discontinue blame game.  Both USA and China have to come closer and work together to survive, sustain and continue formidably in chorus, confronting and defeating manifold challenges at the same time digging opportunities created by Pandemic COVID-19 and, thus pass messages of rejuvenated life in national, regional and global perspectives. Nothing to be worried at all, they will have enough time to combat coupled with matching approaches and strategies for supremacy over each other and the world at large being not oblivious of the saying ‘Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights’ (Friedrich Hegel). Hope and believe medical scientists shall be in a position to produce medicines and vaccines shortly. May Allah bless us, save us, protect us, and defend us under the circumstances, decisive or not.

Also read: Global economy to shrink by 3.2pc: UN report

(Dr. Sinha MA Sayeed, Writer, Columnist and Chairman of Leadership Studies foundation, LSP. He can be reached at sinha_sayeed@yahoo.com. This article was first published in Dhaka Courier)

Can conventional mass media survive the epidemic is a question that affects everyone. It's not about professionals being dumped in their mid career but about the quality and access to information for all. The corona crisis has again put the spotlight on this so called “mainstream” media. It seems the relevance and popularity of this media was under threat for a while. And this threat was enhanced by the corona crisis creating a new crisis.

Roots of the crisis

In Bangladesh, media boomed when there was a lot of surplus money to splash around to gain prestige, protect gains and expand clout. It’s based on connection capitalism profit. Sometimes the invested money is not even white and the objectives are neither to advance the cause of governance transparency or make profit. It’s to make oneself more eligible to transact better in connection capitalism.

By the middle of last year the crisis in Bangladesh’s media economy was obvious. Not only were some of the owners in conflict with each other or in trouble with the authorities, but most outlets seemed unsustainable.

Two factors had helped the boom to happen. The relatively low start up costs particularly with online media and the surplus educated workers available in a hostile job market ready to take any job. It flourished initially but once the relative benefits of losing ventures pinched and long term costs bled the owners staff slashing began.

The crisis had hit before corona did but it dealt a blow that made it a disaster. Money is short but the competitors are many. The advert pie has become much smaller but with the same number of diners. Now the Government has entered a survival mode and every expenditure is uncertain including their patronage adverts. For the GOB, media is not a priority call to make and plunk down money.

An immature sector?

The way most houses went online and several online outfits shut down shows the immature media market situation and unhealthy status of most outlets. Many would have shut down anyway by June in all probability. The media situation to put it bluntly is grossly artificial. Corona just made it its crisis peak of sorts quicker thereby proving relief to some owners, a sort of viral rescue package.

The crisis has also shown that the media's capacity- technical and skill wise- is limited, in some cases alarmingly so. This has led to headline chasing and panic mongering to substitute substantive reporting and analysis. While few have little knowledge about the issues but media showed no interest to learn.

The number of infected and dead and recovered, bodies not buried and the rmg crisis became the mainstay. It's not Bangladesh media problem but global. Everyone lined up to join the sensation brigade including scientists and doctors in some cases. However, the problem is that no mass media outlet could compete with social media when it came to spreading fear. So when mass media tried to copy social media they ended up losing the fight.

A transition?

The crisis was also seen in the temporary death of print editions which were feared as possible virus carriers. Thus several shut down and went online but that also meant traditional print media adverts were lost and online ads haven’t yet really caught on. But it's here the big transition lies.

Print based media is now an ageing beast and looks like a dinosaur now. Adverts will run to online more but main outlets are print based. Both writing and production will need drastic changes as its anew form and culture.  The age of long Op-eds and large comments may mercifully be coming to an end.

Thus media looks to be more niche as people will depend less increasingly on major brands. With no prediction possible on how much ad revenue will be shared between online and radio/TV, less employment will mean less output which will hit the big houses more. A part of “Vanity” media may survive as long as their rich owners want but its decline is obvious.

The authorities should play a role in training media on the issue of disasters, economics etc as well not to mention public health. But it has been more interested in applying the DSA rather than building bridges with the media. The Government’s approach has been predictable and conventional like media which was critical of it, sometimes without balance. But if the authorities continue to crack down, people will scout foreign and expat media for information and opinion putting more pressure on local media.

However the media will survive and so will junk media but it will not be the same anymore. New configurations will emerge and professional media will have lesser space. To survive it will have to be more professional. But as a profession, it will be less populated. Post corona media will not just be professional media but social service media as well. As the corona crisis has shown public interest in social service is high. Interest in politics, on the wane for long, has increased so the conventional political media will have to change to stay afloat.

(This article was first published in Dhaka Courier)

I shall leave it to others to assess the loss to the nation, from the passing away of such a giant as National Professor Anisuzzaman. That in fact may be the most daunting task at hand, as we come to contemplate his unparalleled contribution in giving meaning, in shaping, and even, as only one as accomplished as him could, defining what it meant to be Bangladeshi. It is likely to beseech us for generations, for aeons, almost as long as the sheer weight of the man’s achievements made him hover over the nation’s conscience, for here was a man who in stature as well as behaviour, very clearly brooked no equal.

But that I shall leave that  to others. What I instead find myself overwhelmed by on the occasion of his passing, is the gift he bore me throughout my 55 years of knowing him: some of the most beautiful memories that this life has had to offer. Of those days in my father’s apartment in the DU campus as the movement raged for independence, in the company of men like Anisuzzaman and Munier Chowdhury. The fatherly affection in which he held me through all the years and all the ways we travelled, that after my own father’s passing in 1992 worked to lessen the pain. It was only fitting that he had moved into our old apartment on Fuller Road after my father retired and moved out.

Read Also:National Professor Dr Anisuzzaman passes away

He remained a constant source of love and inspiration later when I taught at the Depart of Journalism and Mass Communication at DU, and it was the highest honour for me when he agreed to write the foreword for my book on Bangabandhu, the halo that seemed to separate him from the rest still undimmed, his preeminence still untouched, by what should have been five decades’ worth of wear and tear. When he attended dinners at my residence, I would still be in awe of him. And swim in his affection. We talked about a possible book on Tagore’s Natir Puja, to which he would contribute his unmatchable pen. Alas, it wasn’t to be…

Read Also:Dr Anisuzzaman tests COVID-19 positive after death: Family

All I am left with, are the  many memories, the many moments, fleeting yet overpowering, as I remember his ever-smiling face. Today, it’s as if they carry the weight of an ocean. Even as he bore the nation’s conscience, it all rested so easily on his shoulders.

Read Also:Tearful adieu to Prof Anisuzzaman, the lighthouse

(Enayetullah Khan is the Editor-in-Chief of UNB and Dhaka Courier. This article was first published in Dhaka Courier)

Life or livelihood? That is the question facing millions and millions of people around the world today in an entirely unprecedented scenario for the modern, globalized world. But are the two truly mutually exclusive in the time of Covid 19? Or, can an accommodation be made to keep the search for livelihood as safe as possible from the point of view of health. Luckily, perhaps due to divine grace, Bangladesh has so far seen figures of infection and mortality which are far lower than might have been expected.

As economies across the globe continue to face the brunt of COVID 19, the question regarding when and how countries resume economic activities is generating much debate everywhere. With almost half of the world’s population currently in confinement or under reduced mobility, and economic activities at a virtual standstill,  reopening is indeed a critical issue to ponder upon where the livelihood of millions is under threat. Responses by countries  have had few things in common, but much divergence is also inevitable as reopening decisions are very much determined by the stage of the pandemic in each country. Given that the extent of the problem is asymmetrically distributed across regions and countries, the responses  of governments vary significantly.

European countries such Italy, Spain, and Germany that have seen the curve flatten, with a lowering of the number of new cases and deaths, have embraced limited opening of businesses and activities for the general public. The United Kingdom (UK),  on the other hand, continues to maintain lockdown out of an abundance of caution despite recent decreases in the number of new cases and deaths. To many, the British position appears to be appropriate. Hastening to a full re-opening of the economy before the curve has truly flattened or enough evidence regarding  the spread and possible containment of the virus is established could lead to a resurgence in cases and spread with possibly devastating consequences. There are examples of countries such as Singapore which did well initially  and remained without any lockdown, only to find cases soaring by 50 times within four weeks since mid March, requiring a late but strict lockdown.

There is little doubt that such wide-ranging restrictions are hard to bear,  but both science and wisdom suggest that they not be lifted prematurely, at least not without a strategy which takes into account public health science and data, emergency management tools, and a structured, safe-guards based approach to any opening up of the economy.

The Bangladesh Context

Bangladesh, having been under a form of partial lockdown for over four weeks to save lives, is taking heavy economic losses of about Taka 33 billion a day to GDP, and with more than 10 million marginalized families missing out on the daily-waged income they rely on. Business membership organizations with considerable clout such as the ones representing the garments and textile sectors have successfully pursued the policy makers to allow re-opening of factories.  

The Government, having been left with difficult choice of weighing lives against livelihoods, has finally decided to allow gradual opening, a decision which, according to many experts, may have come ahead of time or without adequate preparations.

Under the current arrangements, companies operating in pharmaceutical and export sectors have been allowed limited operation from 26 April, although they had had a similar dispensation from the beginning, following Covid related health and safety requirements. Partial banking services had been operating and have now been asked to expand further; and goods-transport have also been given a go-ahead.

However, since factories have opened up fully in several sectors without paying much attention to the “gradual” part of the decision, the ancillary economic activities such as food shops and accommodation in those areas have also opened up. Additionally, a limited opening for iftar has been permitted.

There are concerns though, that the limits will be observed more in being breached than followed. A large proportion of the general population, having complied with the lockdown orders, are somewhat unhappy at the current dispensation.

How Are Other Countries Responding

There is little doubt that countries, developing and industrial economies alike, cannot afford to remain under complete lockdown for an indefinite, and unknown period of time. Return to normalcy is not plausible until  some sort of vaccine is found, and it makes sense to get back to restoration, gradually.

But one would have to also note that countries and regions with significant ongoing virus transmission should expect that restarting economic activity will only lead to more transmission. Hence,  countries which have allowed some form of resumption of work and business operations, have done so following a systematic approach that  builds on science, data, risk categorization of businesses, geography, and segment of population.

These economies have  put in place clear, structured Lockdown Exit Strategies which provide the outline for gradual opening of the economy starting with essential and low-risk parts of the economic activities.

The Strategies are also flexible to allow for modifications in light of newly available information, and must be targeted for granular level localities.

Countries which have now laid out clear, timebound exit plans to withdraw gradually include nations which have been severely hit by the pandemic such as the USA, Spain, and Italy to the ones who have contained it really well such as Australia, New Zealand and the Czech Republic. India laid out a plan  to start from April 20 the process of restoring livelihoods by permitting economic activity in key sectors, such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, packaging, exports, e-commerce, construction and self-contained industrial clusters. South Korea has shown that strong intervention and effective planning can keep the virus in check and help resumption of economic activity. Federal countries and unitary nations have different political and constitutional requirements which also need to be accommodated.

Building an Effective, Clear Exit Strategy
An intrinsic feature of the approach adopted by these countries is a structured, and phased  exit plan which, most importantly, remains informed by science and data.  

Evaluating a country’s readiness to restart activities will essentially depend on the health system’s level of strength combined with  an assessment of the intensity of virus transmission. Thus, effective exit strategies  build on

•    An increased capacity to test
•    Contact tracing lifted to a mass level to find and isolate all of the contacts of a known source of infection
•    Dissemination/disclosure of adequate information regarding cases and mortalities on a regular basis
•    Strengthened local response capabilities – essentially the ability to effectively lock down hotspots where outbreaks occur.

Reflecting upon best and safe practices identified so far from around the globe, it is critical that Bangladesh ensures holistic planning and solutions which are implemented towards control of the spread of the pandemic while the policy makers strive towards effective lifting of the lockdown. Planning and solutions must clearly outline :

1.    Criteria: conditions based on health and medical data that sectors and localities should satisfy before initiating phased opening.
2.    Preparedness : what the country and local administration should do to meet challenges in the coming days, including potential of resurgence of the virus.
3.    Guidelines: Responsibilities of individuals and employers and relevant government agencies especially in the locality  during all phases, and in each specific phase of the opening.

While it is understood that this is an unprecedented situation in modern times, where no country has managed to find a fool-proof method of either preventing, containing or curing the disease, key considerations Bangladesh must bear in mind while developing a Lockdown Exit Strategy includes i) geographical vulnerabilities managed at the local level, ii) timebound phasing based on the capacity of the central and local administration, iii) scenario planning with regard to the strength and other particular characteristics of each part of the society and economy, and iv) specific impact on the vulnerable parts of the society.

Finally, the strategy must be pragmatic and robust enough to respond to clear objectives such prioritizing the health and safety of all stakeholders, especially workers and others in vulnerable positions; ensuring healthcare management, putting in place the necessary governance measures for effective planning, implementation, and monitoring;  generating livelihood, ensuring mobility, and, in a slightly longer term, enabling a robust recovery of economy .

All this can be done with the judicious use of expert advice, particularly in the spheres of public health management, medical service management, social behavioral science, and economics.

Effective coordination, an important  but often missing feature in the way Bangladesh handles crises, will be critical to attain success, and can be significantly strengthened by putting in place an institutional coordination mechanism.

Such a platform, ideally headed by an empowered, competent, high-level  policy-maker, will be key to bring the relevant stakeholders together  for appropriate decision and regular monitoring.

There will have to be behavioral changes which will last beyond the immediate contagion, general health and safety protocols to be observed by all at home and in public places, and specifically designed protocols for different industries. These will have to be incorporated into daily behavior.

Let’s Wrestle The Enemy to Floor Before Taking Victory Laps

As Prime Minister Boris Johnson of UK said upon his return to work this week, ‘ do not let go as you begin to wrestle the enemy to floor’. Bangladesh must not let down the guard without an evidence-based assessment to determine the time to re-open its economy fully,  and it must take a systematic, science and data driven phased approach before easing restrictions even more. Having avoided wide-spread outbreak in the initial few weeks through judicious policy decisions, we as a nation must avoid resurgence resulting from pre-mature opening which will lead to a collapse of the already struggling health system, and a second wave of lockdown which will have the potential to grievously harm the society in the long term. Restriction must be eased out in a manner that can help get maximum economic gain with minimum loss of lives through the pandemic, and at the appropriate time.

We believe, therefore, that life and livelihood are not an either/or choice. Both can be safeguarded through pragmatic yet cautious and courageous policies. We have the advantage yet of relatively low infection and mortality numbers, which we do not want to squander. Our policymakers may take advantage of the experiences of many of the countries which are several weeks ahead of us, set up committees of experts in public health management and economic recovery management, designing interventions and actions suited to our specific circumstances, thereby charting the shortest course to a viable and safe re-opening and recovery.

Jointly written by Asif Ibrahim, Chairman, Chittagong Stock Exchange; Nihad Kabir, Barrister, President MCCI, Dhaka; Abul Kasem Khan, Chairman, Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD); Syed Nasim Manzur, Leather Footwear and Good Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Dr. M. Masrur Reaz, Chairman, Policy Exchange

With current Covid-19 pandemic flaring up across 210 countries in the world, millions of poor people are already affected and more so in the developing world.

Covid-19 by now, is no longer about health but became a social issue particularly for the low-income people and people living in vulnerable life condition in the developing countries. In the context of Covid-19 pandemic, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) may have increased risk for exposure, complications, and death because of a number of factors.

First, they are disproportionately represented among older populations and at increased risk of pandemic. More than 46% of the world’s population of 60-plus age have disabilities. Secondly, children and adults with disabilities may have underlying health conditions that increase their risk of serious complications from COVID-19. Thirdly, people with disabilities are disproportionately represented among the world’s people living in poverty.

Impacts of COVID-19 are likely to even worsen the situation of the people in lower socio-economic groups.

People with disabilities in the developing countries are most vulnerable due to spread of the invisible ‘killer’ called novel coronavirus. Disability (12 types) causes marginalization and deprivation of a human and hinders living a life in dignity. In Bangladesh, as per Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016, nearly 6.94% population of Bangladesh are PWDs. All these people face multiple layers of deprivation at this period particularly in job opportunity and secured income.

Read Also:More men than women dying in Bangladesh from coronavirus; experts wonder why!

Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act 2013 fortunately prompted a positive change in social attitude coupled with policy support. Consequently, skilled People with disabilities could secure jobs in Ready-Made Garments, Banking, Social Services, Small Business andother sectors. On the contrary, several studies conducted to assess the situation of employment of PWDs in Bangladesh and factors influencing them show that people with disabilities are at a greater disadvantage, experiencing significant difficulties at this time of COVID-19 pandemic. Quarantine, health facilities and transport established as part of the COVID-19 response may fail to cater to the requirements of children and adults living with disabilities.

People have already started experiencing fragile conditions. With lockdown all over the country and shrinking economic activities; fear of hunger and frustration among low-income people is boiling. While normal people are capable of having access into local philanthropy support, people with disabilities cannot readily access into those nor do they have the physical capability to compete for cash or kind support.

Media reports claim that RMG sector has lost supply order of apparels worth 3 billion US dollars. Brunt of this economic turmoil is inevitably going to push the low-income quintal of the labor force towards negative coping strategies e.g. going without food, selling household goods for purchasing foods and essentials. The wrath of the economic boil down however, would be extreme on the people with disabilities as they have no option but to depend on others for their survival.

Read Also:Coronavirus in Bangladesh spreading fast; 9 new deaths in 24 hrs

Disability focused organizations including mainstream voluntary social organizations working to promote, protect and assist in upholding rights of the PWDs in Bangladesh have come together to join hands with the government for the prevention and protection of the people with disabilitiesfrom COVID-19. Some activities being undertaken by local and national organizations include health literacy and door to door counselling, foods and hygiene packets distribution, collaboration and coordination etc.

The Government of Bangladesh has taken all measures within its capacity to save the population from this pandemic. The National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 is a laudable guiding document. Feeding 5 million people with food support including support for PWDs is another pro-poor step. Economic stimulus package for the RMG workers will reduce suffering of the extreme and low-income people of the country.

However, there are areas where we can collectively contribute to fill in the gaps. Bangladesh Television broadcasts its news bulletins in sign language to reach out to the hearing impaired. All the private television channels should broadcast their news bulletins with sign language interpretation upholding the spirit of ‘leaving no one behind.’

Engagement of disability focused organisations in the preparedness and response plans (focusing the needs of different types of disabilities) including implementation process is necessary to fulfill the objectives of the National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19.

Participation of the disability focused organisations and voluntary social organizations at the local level in designing and delivering of prevention and response plans and decision-making will ensure social equity. Women suffer the most in any disaster. Similarly, women with disabilities are likely to have been more vulnerable during this lockdown situation. Therefore, special attention needs to be given to protect and safeguard the women with disabilities at all levels.

Quota for cash or food support for people with disabilities is highly recommended as it will ensure rights and entitlements for them amongst those competing to have access into public or private resources. Door-step delivery should be ensured for free or at affordable rates.

Coordination and Cooperation between and among disability focused organisations and voluntary social organizations is desired to avoid any overlap or duplication of limited resources. Access to aid and devices for persons with disabilities during the lockdown should be made available. Support services, personal assistance, physical and communication accessibility must be ensured by public and private service providers for those persons with disabilities affected.

Provisions should be made for those people with disabilities who do not have disability certificates that they can avail uninterrupted government services. There should be separate rehabilitation and quarantine centers for people with disabilities. Trained and qualified health professionals should be engaged to deal with people with disabilities when quarantined.

And finally, we must keep in mind that people with disabilities in need of health services due to COVID-19 must not be deprioritized on the ground of their disability.

(The views and opinions expressed herein are of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of UNB. Amrita Rejina Rozario, is the Country Director of Sightsavers Bangladesh Country Office. She can be reached at arozario@sightsavers.org)