The article analyses how South Asia is dealing with the pandemic and the need for coordinated action by the countries across the region.

Varying response across the region

• Governments in South Asian countries have responded in varying degrees to counter the health and economic crises.
• India resumed its economic activities on a limited scale following a strict lockdown.
• Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka did the same after an extended lockdown.
• Bhutan and the Maldives have managed to largely contain community transmission and avoid prolonged lockdowns due to a higher testing rate.
• This is consistent with the hypothesis that countries that have conducted more tests have been more successful in containing the pandemic.

Low mortality in the region

• Unlike other regions, South Asian countries are experiencing a lower mortality rate despite having a higher infection rate.
• However, epidemiological studies and the World Health Organization’s reviews have been sceptical about the data reliability.

Effectiveness of state responses

• India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives have unveiled stimulus packages.
• The rest of the countries are yet to announce any concrete support for their low income and lower-middle income population still suffering from the economic fallout of the crisis.
• In late March, India announced a $22.5 billion relief package to ensure food security and cash transfers to save the livelihoods of an estimated 800 million people living in poverty.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed the repo and reverse repo rate to create liquidity for businesses.
• In early April, Bangladesh announced a stimulus package worth about $8 billion in addition to an earlier $595 million incentive package for export-oriented industries.
• Although countries like India and Bangladesh announced financial and material stimulus packages, distribution concerns remain unaddressed.

United response by SAAR

• The region need to look beyond narrow geopolitical rivalry and come together to work towards a well-coordinated response mechanism.
• A SAARC COVID-19 fund was created following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to South Asian leaders.
• Bbut governments are yet to decide on its modus operandi.
• The region could leverage its existing institutional framework under the umbrella of SAARC to effectively respond to the crisis.
• For instance, SAARC Food Banks could be activated to tackle the imminent regional food crisis, and the SAARC Finance Forum can be activated to formulate a regional economic policy response.

Conclusion

Faced with an unprecedented crisis, this is the right time for the leaders of the region to come together and take on the challenge collectively.

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