Poorer Nations Need Their Own Pandemic Toolkit

With death rates beginning to peak in Western countries, the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis is moving toward the developing world. Yet bare hospitals, armies of informal workers and sprawling slums mean the poorest nations have struggled to pull down the shutters. Experiences in Asia and elsewhere suggest that limiting chaotic mass migration to rural areas can be a start. Throw in cash handouts and a concerted effort to educate and inform, and efforts to contain the virus begin to look a lot more credible.

So far, the infection-control playbook, modeled on China’s, has been consistent: to manage the strain on hospitals; keep the population indoors; restrict gatherings and travel; close offices and schools. This approach has limited contagion rates for a disease we cannot yet cure. It’s clear that these remedies are less helpful in poor places where billions work for daily wages. Consider that the United Nations estimates that more than a billion people, roughly one in four city dwellers, live in a slum.