Apatani Model of Combatting Covid-19

As the entire world looks to escape the fury of Covid-19, the Apatani tribe living in Arunachal Pradesh has shown an effective way of combating the menace. The self-imposed measures adopted by every member of the tribe were so fruitful that between the months of March to September 2020, when the lethal virus was creating worldwide havoc, out of a population of 80 thousand people, only a single person got infected by the virus in Ziro valley. After the complete lift of precautionary measures, 350 people have been infected, but no casualty has been reported thus far. As a result of this remarkable achievement, now public health experts from all over the world have made a beeline to the valley in East Himalayas to learn from the tribal populace on how to create a society free of health hazards.

Initially, these experts suspected that some traditional medicines or herbs had saved the tribal people from being infected. But on reaching, they realised that there was no magic behind the extraordinary success. Few simple steps such as restricting the entry of outsiders in the villages, not allowing anyone to go out until and unless it was highly important, and keeping the villages clean were the important measures followed by the members of the Apatani tribe. Another important step that the tribal people took was to enforce these restrictions well before the countrywide lockdown imposed on March 23 after learning about the outbreak of the pandemic in China.

If one tries to compare the steps taken by the various states and Apatani tribe, the reason behind India’s continued struggle with Covid-19 can easily be understood. In Ziro valley not only were restrictions enforced, but people also voluntarily offered their services to oversee the adherence of those restrictions. While menfolk were busy in keeping a vigil on the violators, self-help groups (SHG) took up the responsibility of supplying food to them. On the other hand, under the nose of law-enforcers, scenes like people roaming in the streets without masks, not observing social distancing norms, etc. were common in all the major cities of the country. Instructions such as not to assemble in a particular place in large numbers or to refrain from bursting firecrackers to keep pollution away were not adhered to. People were found to be more interested in observing festivals than following restrictions to maintain public health. As a result, Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala are now facing a third wave of attack by the virus; scenarios of other states too are not very encouraging.

Should Indian cities take a leaf out of the Ziro success story to ensure safety of the people? The success story of the Apatani tribe should be followed as the steps are not only meant to fight Covid-19 alone. It provides us with a potent weapon to combat all future public health hazards. But while adopting the said model, it should be kept in mind that the simple steps taken by the Apatani tribe are hard to imitate as it requires a change in the mindset of the urban Indian population.