Covid 19: Politics of Knowledge, Public Health and the World Order

Published: Jun 30, 2020

SCIENCE, HEALTH
Covid 19: Politics of Knowledge, Public Health and the World Order

Photo courtesy: Ashok Adepal

India moved from the containment strategy to mitigation of health effects in those infected—from creating herd immunity in a seemingly controlled way, it is now in a situation of desperation and immense suffering.

Abstract: In the present era of a knowledge society, the world order will be shaped more than ever before by the politics of knowledge. In the post-COVID world, public health knowledge is likely to be a significant contributor. This article briefly discusses the various contemporary public health approaches evident within the discipline: global health, community medicine and critical public health. Then it goes on to analyse country level policy approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic, delineating a tentative four-category typology, based on available information. Finally, it sets out the possible outcome indicators that should be used to assess the national responses.

The author is Professor, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. ritupriyajnu@gmail.com. The article should be cited as Priya R., 2020. COVID-19: Politics of Knowledge, Public Health and the World Order,  Geography and You, 20(146): 18-25.