Question

In an essay of 3-5 paragraphs discuss the following: As a result of the Covid-19 crisis, there have been periodic shortages of medical supplies, personal protective equipment, manufactured goods and food. Specifically identify one of these shortages and discuss a pricing strategy that you believe would help alleviate the shortage in an equitable and efficient manner. Why would your suggested method of pricng work better than what is currently in use?

Answer 1

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked broad-based resort to export restrictions on
medical supplies and food. This eBook asks: Should governments react to the health,
economic, and trade crises by turning inward? The authors provide an unequivocal
answer: No. Turning inward won’t help today’s fight against COVID-19. National trade
barriers in a world of internationalised manufacturing processes will make it harder
for every nation to produce vital medical supplies. Trade is not the problem; it is part
of the solution. Insular policies will also fail to foster economic recovery, and they are
a threat to the collaborative spirit that the human race will need to defeat this threat.
On 26 April 2020, as we wrapped up this eBook, the world had suffered over three
million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 200,000 deaths. Those are frightening
numbers. But what is even more disturbing is the growth rate; today’s death toll is twice
what it was two weeks ago (Roser et al. 2020).1 This sort of explosive growth has led to
emergency policy reactions.
To slow the spread of the disease, governments around the world have imposed
draconian containment policies – what the IMF has called “The Great Lockdown”.
Restrictions on our economic, personal, and social lives – strictures that would
have been absolutely unthinkable just three months ago – are viewed as normal and
necessary. Quite simply, the pandemic has changed the world faster than most expected
and in ways few anticipated.
One of the least anticipated aspects has been the trade effects and policy responses

The contributions to this volume make their case by assessing the trade and investment
policy changes taken by governments so far during this global pandemic, by taking
account of commercial realities on the ground including international supply chains, by
drawing upon relevant precedents and analysis, and by considering alternative policy
responses to protectionism.
A recurring finding is that many governments urgently need a shift in mindset. They need
to understand that international trade is not a problem in this crisis; it is a core element
of the solution. They need to realise that in the 21st century, open trade routes and
international supply chains are critical to controlling and defeating the pandemic. The
foundation of greater domestic policy effectiveness is undertaking inter-governmental
cooperation on a number of fronts. Cooperation would yield great benefits.
On the positive side, the world’s manufacturing can be used to produce vital medical
supplies and critical medicines, and – eventually – to produce a few billion doses of
the vaccine that will finally put the COVID-19 crisis behind us. On the negative side,
a 1929-style vortex of short-sighted, nationalistic retaliations could hobble productive
capacities for the whole world. If ever there was a time for world leaders to come
together and cooperate in a common cause, it’s now. The time for go-it-alone approaches
is over. Quite literally, international cooperation is a matter of life and death.
To get historical perspective on today’s policy reactions, we quickly review previous
trade collapses and protectionist responses, starting with the 2008-2009 breakdown..

The All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a non-government organisation, has now written to the Prime Minister asking for the removal of HLL as a nodal agency for centralised procurement. “It is our demand that HLL be immediately removed as the nodal agency for centralised procurement of PPE. Healthcare institutions should be permitted to procure PPE independently without delay... the health ministry should put out public guidance on minimum PPE specifications which can be followed by public an ..

World Health Organization (WHO) had in February called on industry and governments to increase manufacturing by 40% to meet rising global demand. But the government failed to make any forecasts. The resultant “last minute rush” by the government is inadequate, feel industry experts. According to the government’s own document on containment plan, containment of a cluster, lasting a month or two in a population of 100,000, may require 2 million triple layer mask

ring to foreign governments which were stockpiling,” said Sanjiiiv Relhan, Chairman, Preventive Wear Manufacturer Association of India.

“We also repeatedly raised the need for creating stockpiles of protective gear which were ignored. Despite us reaching out to the ministry and requesting for anti-profiteering measures to be imposed, as early as February 7, Indian government did not do that. The price of components used to make the 3 ply face masks have gone from 250/kg to 3,000/kg. El ..

As the number of COVID-19 cases increases exponentially across the country, the healthcare workers are working in a dangerous situation, as they are forced to work without proper personal protection equipment (PPE).

By Tuesday evening, India had reported 527 positive cases of the novel coronavirus. The experts, however, say that the country may have somewhere between 300 to 500 million infected people in the coming four months. Though many of these might still recover or face only mild symptoms, thousands will require hospitalisation. The already distressed public healthcare system of the country is set to face serious challenges.

According to data by the Union Health Ministry, as of March 17, there is one isolation bed per 84,000 Indians, and one quarantine bed per 36,000 Indians. The data states there is one doctor per 11,600 Indians, and one hospital bed per 1,826 Indians.

Though the predicted number of cases are roughly between 300 to 500 million, the Health Ministry has reportedly decided to arrange 7.25 lakh body overalls, 60 lakh N95 masks and one crore three-ply masks. The estimates of Preventive Wear Manufacturers’ Association of India (PWMAI) say that to deal with the influx of the patients, a minimum of 5 lakh health workers including doctors, nurses, paramedics, maintenance and other support staff will be required. If three units of PPE are required per person a day, about 15 lakh PPE will be required daily.

“This is a conservative estimate,” said Sanjiv Relhan, PWMAI chairman. “Even if we consider one PPE per day per health worker, we cannot provide it. The WHO guidelines suggest you have to change your PPE when you go from one patient to another. We cannot even imagine it.”

In the media briefing by the Health Ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research on Sunday, when the joint secretary Lav Agarwal was questioned about the lack of transparency in procurement of the protective gear, he said that PPE are now being manufactured in India itself, which used to be imported earlier.

He was also questioned about the government’s failure to maintain a stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE) despite World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. But he responded by saying “Where is the report?”

Read more: COVID-19: Concerned Citizens Write to Govts Demanding Emergency Relief Measures for Vulnerable Groups

On February 27, the WHO had issued guidelines, which said: “The current global stockpile of PPE is insufficient, particularly for medical masks and respirators; the supply of gowns and goggles is soon expected to be insufficient also. Surging global demand − driven not only by the number of COVID-19 cases but also by misinformation, panic buying and stockpiling − will result in further shortages of PPE globally.”

Though the guidelines were issued on February 27, Indian government waited till March 19 to issue a notification prohibiting the export of domestically manufactured PPEs and the raw material for the PPEs, says a report by The Caravan.

But doctors working with the AIIMS have drafted a protocol. One of its clauses says that each health worker will attend to COVID-19 patients in six-hour shifts, which indicates that each worker will require four PPE changes daily.