COVID-19 Pandemic Is About More than Health: A State of Governance Challenges in Bangladesh

Abstract

Governance can help minimise the effects of catastrophes. Countries had some time to prepare for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but some did not use it to improve their arrangements. This research investigates several countries’ governance strategies, develops a governance model and critically analyses Bangladesh’s failure as a case of governance catastrophe. This study applies qualitative methods of textual data analysis to explore data sourced from current newspapers, blogs, websites, journal articles and books to determine the most appropriate evidence and generate connections and interpretations. The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating consequences for all countries; however, the different national responses have provided the opportunity to measure governments’ capability in addressing the crisis. Governments need to study the current COVID-19 response and enhance their governance capacities to minimise the spread of infection and to prepare for the challenge of socio-economic recovery.

COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: A scoping review of governance issues affecting response in public sector

“…From the very beginning, governance problem was prominent in managing the lockdown to limit the spread of the virus, characterised by ‘confusion, incoherence, and reversal’ [ 20 ]. In the early weeks, the health system displayed poor preparedness in tackling the returnees from Italy (and other countries) by institutional ‘quarantine’ in the airports or, later, in the homes [ [20] , [21] , [22] ]. The expatriates at the airports revolted against the poor arrangement of quarantine facilities, and the authorities had to succumb and release them.…”

“…This study presents critical reflections on Bangladesh Government's COVID-19 governance response through a review of selected papers on the topic (n = 11), followed by expert deliberations on the review findings. Findings reveal a lack of governance capability to mount a quick, effective and efficient response, such as lockdown and testing, that is inclusive and comprehensive [ 22 ]. The findings are discussed below with implications for future epidemic/pandemic preparation in the context of LMICs like Bnagladesh.…”

MOOC-based learning for human resource development in organizations during the post-pandemic and war crisis: a study from a developing country perspective

“…To prevent the transmission or spread of the virus, countries around the world have applied many initiatives (Uddin, 2021) including lockdowns (Jarman et al ., 2020; Rahman et al ., 2020) and shutdowns, considering the transmission rate and the health emergency. But these measures were controversial and consequential for a lower-middle income developing nation to implement because such kind of lockdown and restrictions can eventually result in an economic downturn when these measures are imposed for a long time.…”

A study of the decentralised administrative arrangements between the central and local governments in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis

“…Though it is a health concern, nothing is outside the administrative and governance procedure; thus, it was also a test of administrative competence for countries. The epidemic had devastating global impact on government, governance and socio-economies (Greer et al , 2020; Gauld, 2023; Farid Uddin, 2021). Because of the extremely high transmission of COVID-19 cases, governments in countries carried broad measures to battle the spread of the virus.…”

“…In addition, there is a considerable amount of research on COVID-19 from various policy and political perspectives (Li and Song, 2022; Greer et al , 2020; Farid Uddin, 2021; Hossain, 2021). However, there is a scarcity of studies exploring the central-local government relations in COVID-19 strategic actions.…”