Responding to COVID in India

Thomas Steininger in dialogue with Abhishek Thakore

India is hit very hard by the COVID Crisis right now. The WHO speaks of 4000 deaths per day. Independent researchers from the Economist think that the numbers may be as much as five times higher. The Indian health system is overwhelmed and there are not enough beds and medical supplies for the numbers of people who need care. It’s hard to know how to respond to such a massive breakdown and such urgent need.

Abhishek Thakore, co-founder of the Blue Ribbon Movement in Mumbai, has felt the call to respond. He initiated a self-organizing movement to help, first with direct relief, but then he and his colleagues started to organize circles around the country to help communities with their grief.

Something began to happen in these circles. They started a conversation on how the COVID Crisis can be also a new start for networks of people interested in new perspectives on living together, including technology and business. The COVID Crisis may be the first true global crisis, which also means that we can learn from each other how to respond to the pandemic, its causes and its consequences. It can be a stimulus for changing our cultural priorities and implementing new ideas.

This week on Radio evolve, Thomas Steininger talks with Abhishek Thakore about an Indian response to COVID.