Back

Dr Suresh Kumar, Dr Rajani Bhat, Sanjiv Chhabria, Dr Vijay Chandru, Nagakarthik M P, Rajeev Sadanandan

In this panel, experts across public health, medicine, data science, community organizing, and philanthropy unpack the deep systemic failures exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Suresh Kumar opens with a stark reflection on three major gaps – lack of disaster preparedness, neglect of end-of-life care, and poor data systems. Dr. Rajani Bhat critiques unscientific medical practices and the medical community’s abandonment of evidence during crisis. Sanjiv Chhabria of StepOne shares how grassroots telemedicine solutions scaled rapidly, yet ultimately couldn’t prevent the collapse of physical infrastructure.

Academic and entrepreneur Dr. Vijay Chandru reveals the failures in genomic surveillance and the reluctance of authorities to act on variant data. Naga Karthik from Crypto Relief speaks about the philanthropic blind spots in funding untested solutions under pressure. Rajeev Sadanandan offers structural insight into everyday resilience versus emergency response, stressing the need for systemic transformation, not just reaction.

The panel closes with a consensus: future preparedness lies in building daily resilience, cross-sectoral collaboration, and embedding community-based intelligence into public health systems.