Primary care for the urban poor in India during the pandemic: Uninterrupted management of non-communicable diseases and home-based care of patients with COVID-19 infection.

The COVID-19 pandemic raises many questions about the preparedness of health systems for disasters that disproportionately affect marginalized populations globally. COVID-19 is only one of the many potential disasters, including non-communicable diseases, mental health problems, pollution, climate change, and lifestyle illness. There is an urgent need to study models of care that support vulnerable communities in an accessible, cost-effective, and patient-oriented way, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This paper outlines lessons on how the LCECU team addressed disaster management:1. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of primary care-based rapid response interventions in disaster management.2. The LCECU model demonstrated the effectiveness of a primary care intervention based on pre-existing networks and familiarity between primary care teams and the community.3. Establishing community-based health care interdisciplinary teams, including community health workers, community volunteers, outreach nurses, and doctors, is key.4. Addressing other social determinants of health, such as food insecurity, is an important component of care delivery.