GIRLS AND WOMEN ONTHE FRONTLINES

C O V I D - 1 9 R E L I E F W O R K

April–May2021

A R e p o r t b y N i r a n t a r T r u s t

Nirantar’s Coalition Network

Bihar Women’s Collectives, Nirantar TrustBal Umang Drishya Sanstha (BUDS), Delhi

GVSS, Pratapgarh (UP)Sakar, Bareilly (UP)

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The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has not left any strata of societyuntouched. The faultlines in our healthcare infrastructure became obvious asshortages of oxygen cylinders, ventilators, hospital beds, and essential drugsplagued cities and towns across the country. Citizens swung into action,running helpline numbers for resources, verifying information, and formingsupport networks on social media.

In addition to the healthcare crisis, in our field areas, people’s livelihoods andfood security have been severely impacted. The prevalence of fake news andlack of access to credible information about COVID symptoms, precautions,and treatment options has resulted in fear and panic. Our efforts towards reliefin the months of April and May 2021 have thus focussed on the provision of dryration to families under severe financial stress, provision of medical kits andmasks, creation of resource material, along with organising events to generateawareness.

Introduction

HighlightsOrganisations involved

Geographical coverage

Information disseminationand awareness generation

Distribution of dry rationand hygiene products

Webinars

6 organisations across 3 states

North East Delhi, Shahdara, SouthDelhi, Central Delhi, and North WestDelhi in New Delhi; Lalitpur andBareilly in Uttar Pradesh; Gaya,Kaimur, Muzaffarpur, Sasaram, WestChamparan and Sitamarhi in Bihar

With over 3000 families

60 families (approx)

2 webinars, attended by 300 peoplefrom across 6 states

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Mapping the Crisis, ProvidingAccess to Information and BuildingAwareness

The frontline workers collected onlineinformation and local level updatesregarding relief services todisseminate the information on theground. This included recentannouncements by the central andstate governments, new schemes,rights and entitlements and otherupdates related to COVID helplinenumbers, nearby health facilities,sources for oxygen supply, Hindi videoresources containing verifiedinformation on prevention andtreatment. By staying in contact overthe phone, frontline workers madepeople aware of the preventivemeasures. We also prepared a list ofdoctors from respective field areaswho can provide online consultationto the people from the communityduring emergencies.

A telephonic sample survey wasinitiated in April among the Biharwomen’s collectives (with 2200women across federations) tounderstand poor households’ accessto various services and entitlementssuch as social security pensions, freeand or subsidised rations, and otherbenefits announced by thegovernment. Based on this, weprepared a list of 3600 women across7 districts in need of immediate relief.Almost 95% of these women are from

Interventions

the most marginalised communities—Dalits, Muslims and other extremelybackward castes.

Health Specific InformationDissemination through Webinarswith Doctors

To dispel rumours, counter fake news,and answer doubts, Nirantarorganised two webinars with frontlineworkers and community members.

The first webinar was organised withDr Shakeel, Consultant Physician withJan Swasthya Abhiyan, Bihar on 18May 2021. A total of 100 people fromsix states participated in the webinar.

Dr Shakeel explained the commonsymptoms of COVID 19, RTPCR andRapid Antigen tests, the need tomonitor the oxygen levels of patientsand decision making regardinghospitalisation. He informed theattendees about the possibility offalse-positive and false-negativeresults, emphasising the need tosimultaneously monitor symptomsand keep basic medicines handy. Hereiterated that while the vaccine is theonly preventive measure against thedisease, no vaccine is 100% foolproof.

The second webinar was organisedwith Dr Rajeev Seth (AIIMS) and DrTaneja on 26 May 2021 to address thequestions sent in by communitymembers pertaining to vaccination.

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Posters for the Webinars with Dr Shakeeland Dr Rajeev

Over 200 people attended thiswebinar.

The questions covered symptoms ofCOVID, precautions to be taken,benefits and risks of the vaccine,safety of the vaccine for pregnantwomen, and rumours about alternateremedies, among others. Thequestions were then shared with thedoctors and the sessions weremoderated by Nirantar teammembers.

Provision of Emergency HealthSupport to the Most MarginalisedCommunities

In April and May, the frontline workerscollected information from differentonline sources and networks foremergency healthcare support. Thisinformation was verified throughindividual calls and verified numberswere updated in the relief supportdatasheet. Frontline workers in Delhimapped the health services in theirfield areas and connected people withlocal Mohalla clinics for COVID testsand basic medicines.

We also compiled a list of doctors(specialists in critical care, infectiousdiseases, gynaecology, orthopaedics,neurology, ophthalmology, anddentistry) who would be available fortele and online consultations forcommunity members, field staff, andNirantar staff.

In preparation for the webinars, weconsulted women and girls from ourfield areas in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh andBihar and asked them to share theirconcerns and questions regardingCOVID-19 and vaccination.

Provision of Ration and Nutrition toFamilies in Crisis

With partial and complete lockdownsimposed by the states, many peoplelost their livelihoods overnights andthere was an immediate need toprovide relief kits to the most margin-

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-alised families. Migrant families, inparticular, faced acute crises as theystruggled to acquire basic essentials.Most of them worked as daily wageearners and casual labourers.Immediate support was provided to55 families in UP and Delhi in the formof dry ration kits and masks.

Minimising Vaccination Hesitancyand Facilitating Access to OnlineRegistration

Online registration for COVIDvaccination can only be done by thosewith access to smartphones. The off-line registration centres are usually faroff and registration only takes placeon designated days. Both theconditions restrict people’s access tovaccinations. Our women’s collectivesand their frontline leaders in Biharstarted an awareness campaign toinform people about the designatedplaces and days of registration. Forpeople with disabilities and otherlimitations, the frontline workersregistered them through their ownmobile numbers. Four collectives arestill compiling data on vaccinationregistration, but over 600 people,especially women, persons withdisabilities, elderly persons, andpeople with comorbidities werehelped by frontline workers withonline registrations using their own

mobile phones. About 1,000 peoplewere motivated and taken tovaccination centres. The frontlineworkers were also present forassistance at the vaccination camps inrespective panchayats.

Educational Monetary Support toGirls

To mitigate the impact of the secondwave on adolescent girls in Bihar, 400girls enrolled in classes 9–12,belonging to Muslim, Dalit and EBCcommunities, were identified for one-time cash support. The families ofthese girls are already heavily in debtdue to loss of income for almost ayear. Investment in the girls’education, health and nutrition hasbecome the last priority for resource-poor families. With help from ourfrontline workers, these girls will beable to afford mobile data for onlineclasses and use the money topurchase sanitary napkins, stationeryitems and textbooks.

Creation of an Online Sharing Spaceand Developing a Feminist SolidarityNetwork

Last year when a sudden lockdownwas announced, we realised that thefrontline workers had been working inisolation. Such work, especially intimes of distress and crisis, can beextremely overwhelming and canaffect mental health. Moreover, whilethere was reporting of violence andbacklash from the community againstfrontline workers, domestic violenceagainst them was goingunrecognised. We felt the need to

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create an online sharing space foreveryone involved in relief work so asto enable them to put forth concerns,personal feelings and share thedifficulties faced during the lockdown.The frontline workers shared theirexperiences through writing letters,songs and stories. This safe andencouraging feminist space was veryhelpful in resolving conflicts as well.

During the recent second wave ofCOVID and the subsequentlockdowns, the pressure on both heal-

-th workers and frontline workers wasunprecedented. The scale of theimpact and their inability to provideaid to everyone in need led to a senseof despair and helplessness amongthe health workers. This prompted theNirantar team to restart the onlinesupport platform where frontlineworkers could articulate theirconcerns in a safe space. Throughregular informal sharing sessions, wealso engaged with young girls andteachers from our learning centres, aswell as members of Nari Adalats.

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There is a need for direct financialand health support, especially forpregnant women, people withchronic illnesses and comorbidities,and migrant workers.

Several pregnant women from ourfield areas were not able to visit thehospital for routine check-ups due tothe surge in COVID-19 cases in Delhi.In a few cases, they were deniedemergency treatment in local clinics.In some cases, women were forced togo back home immediately after thedelivery in the local dispensary. Theywere not even informed about theprecautions that needed to be taken.Due to financial stress, several familieswere not able to afford medication forchronic illnesses. In a few field areas,daily wage labourers have migratedto their native villages in differentparts of UP and Bihar because a largenumber of families live in rentedhouses and were unable to sustainthemselves owing to the financialcrisis.

There is an increased need formental health support, especiallyfrom people belonging tomarginalised communities.

Loss of livelihood in the first wave andthe sudden surge in cases in thesecond wave, along with loss of life

and inaccessibility of health servicesseverely impacted people. There hasbeen a documented increase indomestic violence against womenand girls during the pandemic.Young people in particular arefinding it challenging to deal withthe long-drawn crisis faced by theirfamily members. Fake news related to COVID-19,vaccination, traditional treatmentfor COVID-19 is prevalent andneeds to be countered.

A large section of people with accessto the internet relies on WhatsAppforwards as a source of informationand knowledge. We need to developaudio-visual materials in simplelanguage to disseminate facts andcounter fake news.

Experts have predicted that thereis likely to be a third wave ofCOVID-19 in the next few months.

We need to develop strategies tosupport families who are on theverge of facing a serious health crisisdue to ignorance and inability toaccess resources.

Learnings and Way Forward

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@NirantarTrust @NirantarTrust @Nirantar_Trust @NirantarTrust

For more details about Nirantar’s work, please contact us at:

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Phone: 91 11 2696 6334

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