Bhubaneswar: A study published in an international journal on the levels of vulnerability of Indian states claimed that Odisha is among the top eight Indian states to report the highest vulnerabilities to Covid-19.
The article by the journal, Lancet, titled ‘A vulnerability index for the management of and response to the COVID-19 epidemic in India: an ecological study’ was published July 16. It measured the status of 36 Indian states and Union Territories.
The study claimed that Odisha and seven other states face more vulnerability as compared to other states. The study said, “A number of districts in nine large states—Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, and Gujarat—located in every region of the country except the northeast, were found to have a high overall vulnerability (index value more than 0.75).”
It added, “These states also had high vulnerability according to most of the five domains. Although our intention was not to predict the risk of infection for a district or a state, we observed similarities between vulnerability and the current concentration of COVID-19 cases at the state level. However, this relationship was not clear at the district level.”
While the report claimed MP, Bihar and Telangana are most vulnerable, it also highlighted the status of the states in terms of vulnerability of the global pandemic in terms of socio-economic, demography, housing and hygienic conditions, epidemiological and overall average vulnerability.
The study said that Odisha is most vulnerable from the housing and hygiene point of view in the country with the highest vulnerability index of 0.971. Only Madhya Pradesh has equivalent vulnerability index of that extent.
In overall vulnerability index, Odisha is among the eighth state with worst records. The state, meanwhile, performed well on demographic vulnerability and vulnerability arising out of non-availability of health institutions.
The vulnerability index presented in this paper identified a number of vulnerable districts in India, which currently do not have a large number of Covid-19 cases but could be strongly impacted by the pandemic.
“Our index aims to help policymakers effectively prioritise regions for resource allocation and adopt risk mitigation strategies for better preparedness and responses to Covid-19,” said the researchers in the study.