Panel Discussion: COVID-19 and health care disparities case studies from India and Bangladesh

On the 11the of September the EQUIMOB team members participated in an online panel discussion on COVID-19 and rising disparities using the case studies from India and Bangladesh. The PhD and PostDoc scholars discussed the insights derived from the recently concluded online survey concerning the mobility of older adults and also drew from their fieldwork experiences. The EQUIMOB project PI Prof. Ajay Bailey moderated the session.

A range of pertinent themes was touched upon in the short pitches. Dr. Shirish Darak started the discussion by explaining the challenges and opportunities for civic society organisations to work with the government during the pandemic. The dynamic role of state and civic organisations was brought out with his personal experiences of working with the government during the pandemic.

Prajwal, PhD scholar from Bengaluru focused on the access barriers to mobility for older adults during the pandemic. The government imposed lockdown protocols, transportation advisories and its impact on the lives of older adults was highlighted.

Divya Patil, PhD scholar, shed light a pertinent but often neglected issue of the mental health impact of COVID on older adults. Divya brought in interesting data points from the online survey to provide an overview of the mental health impact.

Saakshi Joshi, Post Doc from Delhi, provided a contextual understanding of the impact of COVID on women in Delhi. The immobility due to lockdown protocols and how this increases the intensity of patriarchal norms was explained.

Seama Mowri (PhD Scholar) and Selim Jahangir (Post Doc), spoke on the impact of COVID on older adults in Dhaka. The risk communication, trust factor and the perception of the safety of using public transport were discussed.

The brief pitches were followed by a general panel discussion on the rising health and social inequalities during the pandemic. This also involved an interactive Q&A session. Overall, the panel discussion provided a platform for the researchers to share, discuss and reflect on the themes they have been researching during the COVID times.