(Thread) The most imp lesson we can draw from the #COVID_19 crisis is the need to address our broken public health systems. Wherever public health system was robust like Germany, or even our Kerala, the threat of the pandemic could be effectively tackled. #PehleHealthCare

It is actually not rocket science to understand. The key to checking the pandemic in Germany has been mass testing, free of cost. The latter is imp, as a prof explained - if they charged for the test, a lot of lower income ppl with symptoms wouldn't get tested. #PehleHealthCare

Besides, its not just about emergency measures. You can't raise an army when the war has broken out, you do it in peacetime. States like Kerala with higher investment in health have more resources - ICUs, ventillators, PPEs, docs, nurses - to handle the crisis. #PehleHealthCare

The state of our public health system should shame us. Not enough govt hospitals. Health centres in countryside lying empty. Till poor were suffering, we never even paid any heed. Can we afford to ignore it anymore? The pandemic should open our eyes. #PehleHealthCare

Right now, govt spends only 1.3% of the GDP on health - one of the lowest globally. Most of our health system is in private hands making it inaccessible to the majority. The media never discussed it, since they have been busy poisoning us with Hindu-Muslim hate. #PehleHealthCare

As citizens, we need to bring this centre stage. Its not just about #COVID19. 24 lakh Indians die of treatable conditions every yr. Out of pocket health expenses drove 55 million Indians in poverty. 38 million were impoverished by expenditure on medicines. #PehleHealthCare

We can learn from Bernie Sanders, in bring healthcare to the centre of a nation's attention. He may be out of the Presidential race, but his campaign has highlighted that corporate greed cannot be prioritized over people's lives. #PehleHealthCare

Our governments cannot be allowed to get away with such less public spending on health care. We aspire to become a superpower, but still can't provide access health care to all citizens. Let us draw the right lessons from this unprecedented crisis. #PehleHealthCare