At a time when the world was reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic, the response by the Indian State of Kerala shone as a guiding light. Under the leadership of then health minister KK Shailaja, the state had among the lowest casualty rates anywhere in the world. NewsClick and Peoples Dispatch spoke to Shailaja Teacher on her recently launched book, My Life as a Comrade. She talks about her tenure as health minister during which she battled multiple crises and led a transformation of the health sector, her journey into politics, and the socio-political culture of Kerala which enabled the state to respond successfully to the pandemic.
KK Shailaja on battling COVID-19, transforming Kerala’s healthcare, and her life as a comrade
Former Health Minister of the Indian State of Kerala KK Shailaja talks about the State’s effective and inspiring response to COVID, the model of development that enabled it, and her life as a communist
