Public health responses and challenges to covid-19: a study of Institutions in the regional director of health and services (RDHS), Kalmunai, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic is the greatest challenge and the global health calamity that the humankind has ever faced since the 2nd World War. Although it originated from Wuhan in China, it brought the entire world into a standstill with unprecedented impacts on human lives and economy of the world. Despite the fact that Sri Lanka is a developing country, it has responded to the Covid-19 significantly well in its first wave compared to other South Asian and European Countries that equipped with a strong public health mechanism, having formed the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 consisting of health authorities, armed forces and other institutions. However, the second wave of Covid-19 poses numerous challenges to the health authorities to contain the transmission of Covid-19. Although there have been studies on Covid-19 in Sri Lanka, the responses of institutions to the Covid-19 have not yet been properly documented or remain unaddressed. As such, this study explores the responses of Kalmunai Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) and other institutions in controlling the Covid-19 and the challenges confronting them in the Kalmunai RDHS region. In addition to secondary sources, the data for this study were drawn from qualitative research method in the Kalmunai RDHS area. The study reveals that the local government authorities, Divisional Secretariats, law enforcement authorities, religious institutions, sports clubs and other civil society organizations have extended their fullest support to Kalmunai RDHS and worked together in containing the Covid-19. However, Kalmunai RDHS has been encountering a numerous challenges: a) Lack of adequate staff, supply and space (SSS), b) Problem of contact tracing, c) Lack of community participation, d) Protection of Health Care Workers, e) Vulnerability of people, f) Unsure about the end of Covid-19, g) Staff resistance, h) Delay of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test results, and i) Lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), j) Non availability of dedicated Covid-19 treatment center within the Kalmunai RDHS region , k) Spread of misinformation and disinformation through social media and l) Management of wastes of Covid 19 affected patients. The study thus argues that the support and participation of people with the health authorities and other relevant institutions is significantly critical to control the Covid-19 pandemic until a credible vaccine for Covid-19 is found and rolled out to the people.