This global pandemic has almost caught us all unaware. This ‘us’ includes governments and public health departments of countries across the spectrum. The public health infrastructure of some of the most developed countries in Europe crashed as the number of cases spiked from early March. This global unpreparedness and the tremendous cost of it in terms of deaths caused by medical negligence makes one wonder why public health crises do not feature in our history books. Why is it almost totally absent from the popular consciousness?’
This resource looks at case studies of a range of pandemics between 19th century India and the ongoing Covid-19, exploring the relations among pandemic, governance and rights. It comes in two parts for the reader’s convenience: A classroom module for the teacher’s use, complete with arts-based activities geared towards critical thinking, and research documents on each case study for the interested reader.
Download the entire module here: