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Mitigation and Management of COVID-19: Practices from India's States & Union Territories [PDF: 3.69 MB]

The full text of a compendium of practices from India on mitigating and managing COVID-19, published by the NITI Aayog, can be accessed here:

INTRODUCTION

This compendium details information about various practices and initiatives implemented by States, Districts and Cities in India for containing and managing the COVID-19 outbreak. It is important to note that these initiatives are not being termed as ‘best practices’ by NITI Aayog as that would require a separate and comprehensive evaluation exercise as well as longer term follow-up. Moreover, in a rapidly evolving situation, it can be challenging to consistently and fully correlate practices with outcomes - a practice might yield good results for a certain period of time but cease to do so thereafter.

An email was sent to all States and Union Territories (UTs) in July, 2020 requesting them to share any practices or models that they believe had been useful for COVID-19 mitigation and management. The email was followed up with phone calls to officials from the health departments in States and UTs. Ten States/UTs responded in writing to this request for information. Additional information was provided by States telephonically as well as during review meetings with Member (Health), NITI Aayog.

Literature searches were conducted using various combinations of keywords in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google and Google Scholar. Relevant case studies and papers were also identified by searching the websites of State/UT Governments and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The last literature search was conducted on November 10, 2020.

Only case studies/reports/papers published in English between 1 February-10 November, 2020 were considered. While efforts have been made by all States and UTs to follow the broad guidelines issued by the Central Government pertaining to different aspects of COVID containment and management, this review captures the specific practices adopted by State and UT Governments to make the implementation of the Central Guidelines effective and relevant to their local context.

All case studies/reports/papers highlighting practices/interventions/models implemented by State or Sub-State Governments on their own or in collaboration with civil society, private sector, volunteers were included in this review. Case studies/reports/papers focusing on interventions implemented by civil society organizations, private sector or individuals independent of any partnership with State/Local Governments were excluded from this review.

Practices have been categorized into the following broad themes: public health and clinical response, governance mechanisms, digital health, integrated models as well as welfare of migrants and other vulnerable groups. While governance and technology cut across several themes, they have been included separately to highlight certain practices adopted by States which pertain primarily to putting in place governance mechanisms or leveraging technology for COVID containment and management.

A summary of the relevant Government of India guidelines has been included for the aforementioned categories, wherever applicable. It is important to note that these guidelines are continually revised based on the emerging scenario with respect to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Mitigation and Management of COVID-19: Practices from India's States and Union Territories [PDF 3.69 MB] Source: NITI Aayog [https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-11/Report-on-Mitigation-and-Management-of-COVID19.pdf]

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