Leaders, institutions and people during Covid-19 : Secret of Asian success

ABSTRACT The three key actors in the current fight against the Coronavirus pandemic are as follows: (1) Leaders (political, scientific, industry, academic), (2) agents (public health departments, centres for disease control, educational and scientific institutions, multilateral organizations) and (3) followers (citizens, public, local community). All three need to be in sync to attain success, but the condition is fulfilled in only a very few countries mostly in Asia. Many political leaders were in denial about the pandemic and failed to provide any incentives to agents and followers to comply with public health rules and guidelines. A brief country review to test the above institutional framework offers several policy lessons for the future notably, need for global cooperation, greater role for government, strengthening of public health care and safety nets, and global sharing of Covid-19 data and vaccines, besides a change in human behaviour, working habits and lifestyles.