Community, Communication, and Capacity Building: Integrated Risks of COVID-19 Response in India

ABSTRACT

While COVID-19 is classified as a pandemic caused by a foreign virus, it turned out to be a human-induced disaster in India where various aspects of the disaster response exposed the social construction of risk. Infodemic, mass migration of labourers and accidental deaths other than COVID 19 not just indicate poor response but also endorse severe impacts of gaps in risk communication and capacity building. Risk communication plays a vital role in generating effective disaster response, however, it can also have grave consequences if not managed well. This paper highlights various aspects of COVID-19 risk communications in India, which emerged as an important gap in both planning and practices of disaster management in the country. The paper is based on the secondary data and literature published on COVID-19 impacts and response in general and risk communication in particular. The paper argues for a need to incorporate risk communication as an important component of disaster management planning, process, and capacity building for effective community participation and response. © 2023 DMICS.