J U N E 2 0 2 1

COVID-19 FIGHT 2.0

J U N E 2 0 2 1 V O L U M E 2 I I S S U E 1 2w w w . t h e g o o d s i g h t . c o m

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Two years on and people across the world arestruggling to cope with COVID-19 and its newvariants. Health, education and livelihoods have beengreatly affected because of this. While governmentsare making all efforts to find the possible ways to dealwith the issues that have arisen due to COVID-19,development organisations have contributedsignificantly to reduce the pain and difficulties ofpeople, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas.Their expertise and years of experience in working inremote locations have benefitted many at the lastmile. Their work has drawn appreciation from allparts of India and even foreign countries. This issue of The Good Sight contains COVID-19response stories of 11 organisations which reflect howthe work of development organisations is playing acrucial role in lessening the hardship of citizens indifferent parts of the country in these trying times.

EditorAsit SrivastavaBhesaja Choudhury

Creative HeadArabinda Das

Photo EditorAbhirup Dasgupta

Marketing Head Nimesh Lal

Team TGS

For contribution, feedbackor queries, reach us [email protected]

www.thegoodsight.com

EditorsAsit Srivastava

Bhesaja Choudhury

Editor's Note

http://www.thegoodsight.com/

SOLIDARIDADFighting COVID-19 on a warfooting

OXFAM INDIA Mission Sanjeevani

GRAM VIKASAnchoring resilience, action tomeet an uncertain future

JHPIEGOBolstering India’s COVID-19response

INSIDE5

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SRIJANCOVID relief, vaccination drive,and the role of Haqdarshika

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CINI COMMUNITYINITIATIVESEfforts to fulfil nutritional needof communities

ACTIONAID Together against COVID-19

CHILD IN NEEDINSTITUTECombating COVID-19 Wave-2with strategy, actions

CHILD RIGHTS ANDYOUReaching out to vulnerablechildren and families

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BHUMIVolunteerism plays vital roleduring pandemic

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HP INDIABattling the pandemic: Needto join hands to helphumanity

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FIGHTING COVID-19 ON AWAR FOOTINGCOVID-19 has caused the world a havoc. As countriesbattled its spread, baffled by the mammothunpredictable nature of the pandemic—people died indroves worldwide. In Asia, the count of victims went offthe roof, as the poor and the vulnerable standing at thefront lines faced the most brutal brunt of the onslaught.Misery and deprivation only got magnified under thelens of the fatal coronavirus pandemic.

In rural parts of Asia, with little access to basiclivelihood requisites during the prolonged months oflockdown, smallholders and daily-wage workersgrappled with the double crisis of income and healthuncertainty. Living hand to mouth, these vulnerablecommunities had neither the access to adequateprotective gear nor the luxury of maintaining socialdistancing.

Gram Vikas engages with the Anganwadi workers fromKulusingi and Chinasari Gram Panchayats in Rayagadadistrict to discuss strategies for COVID-19 screening andtackling vaccine hesitancy in habitations mostlyoccupied by the Lanjia-Saura Adivasi communities.(Photo: Chhabi Mohanty)

Many healthcare and community volunteers also fellprey to the deadly virus. Shortage of personalprotective equipment proved disastrous for thefrontline workers, as the number of healthcarepersonnel testing positive for COVID-19 keptincreasing across Asia.

Relief Efforts

Recognising the pressing crisis at hand, Solidaridadengaged in various relief and awareness mechanismsthrough 2020-2021 to abate the spread of COVID-19 inrural communities. Working closely with partners andlocal authorities, Solidaridad extended support tolandless farmers, workers and vulnerable communitieswith basic livelihood requisites such as the supply ofdry ration kits. It also provided personal protective

Solidaridad reached out vulnerable communities in the crisis with relief materials and personalprotective kits across different parts of rural Asia

T H E G O O D S I G H T | 5

Safe vegetable home deliveryinitiative in Bangladesh.

equipment and preventive care provisions such asmasks, gloves, soaps and sanitisers to severalcommunity workers and healthcare volunteers acrossdifferent parts of rural Asia.

India

Relief efforts in India were organised with supportfrom the local administrations, following the Ministryof Home Affairs’ directives. Approximately 1,150 litre ofsanitiser and more than 55,000 units of personalprotective gear were distributed among healthcareofficers and voluntary community workers acrossmultiple districts in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and UttarPradesh. Dry ration kits with basic sustenance andhygiene essentials such as rice, salt, sugar, flour,cooking oil, pulses, spices, soaps and bedsheets weredistributed among the poor families and vulnerablecommunities in these regions.

40,000 units of personal protective equipmentwere distributed among healthcare workers inMaharashtra and Uttar PradeshOver 20,000 small tea growers in Assam receivedCOVID-19 awareness training with assistance fromAll Bodoland Small Tea Growers’ Association(AASTGA)Over 13,000 farmers in Karnataka received about2,636 litres of sanitisers About 10,000 farmers and daily wage workersreceived relief materials, including sanitisers, soapsand masks, in Assam (with active assistance fromTRINITEA partners, ABSTGA and Indian TeaAssociation-ITA)10,000 kg of liquid chlorine was supplied fordistribution across different panchayats (localvillage authorities) in Andhra PradeshAround 3,000 smallholder farming families

Efforts included:

Distribution of ration kits in Rajasthan, India.

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Over 2,500 migrant workers in Maharashtra weresupported with family-sized dry ration kits1,000 grocery kits were distributed among dailywage workers in Uttar Pradesh400 tanners in West Bengal received Covidinsurance

80,000 face masks, 60,000 units of bar soap, 5,000kg of bleaching powder, 1,490 litres of handsanitiser, and 4,000 litres of disinfectantsdistributed among tea workers, estates, and localservice providers10,700 families of estate workers reached withdistributions

4,800 farming households received sustenancesupport through food packages2,300 households received rice seeds and fertilisers

received relief materials under TRINITEA programme in Assam

The areas covered so far include Elluru and threemandals (sub-districts) i.e. Chintalapudi,Kamavarapukota and Dwarika Tirumala of WestGodavari district in Andhra Pradesh; Sonkatch block ofDewas district in Madhya Pradesh; Nainwa block ofBundi district in Rajasthan; Kanpur and Unnao in UttarPradesh; Nagpur and Yavatmal in Maharashtra;Tinsukia and Udalguri in Assam; Jagatsinghpur andPuri in Odisha; Kolkata in West Bengal and Belgaum,Munoli, Kolavi, Athani in Karnataka.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, Solidaridad, along with its partners,Institute of Social Development (ISD) and NucleusFoundation (NF), provided basic safety and hygienesupplies to the local communities in the Matale andNuwara Eliya districts and Badulla and Monaragaladistricts of Central and Uva provinces respectively.

Efforts included:

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, within the purview of its SustainableAgriculture, Food Security and Linkages (SaFaL)programme, Solidaridad supported farmingcommunities and volunteers with relief initiatives andworked towards creating awareness about maintaininghygiene and social distancing in the wake of theCOVID-19 crisis, working in close coordination withthe government and private stakeholders.

Efforts included:

1,07,957 members from farming communitiesreceived protective materials (face mask, handsanitisers) and were made aware of COVID-19safety measuresPersonal protective equipment distributed amongfield workers, traders and farming householdsHandwashing facilities established in all SaFaLbusiness centres, collection centres, service centresand village supermarkets (VSMs)Home-delivery, mobile van and phone-call-basedsupply of inputs were initiated to keep the supplychain active

3,000 smallholders and their families receiveddoor-to-door delivery of prevention kits (donatedby BASF and Estee Lauder) containing masks andsanitisersPersonal protective equipment distributed amongfarmers at every meeting by Solidaridad fieldtrainersOn-site and virtual mentoring of farmers in WestKalimantan

Indonesia

In Indonesia, as a part of its programme, “EnhancingPalm Oil Smallholders to Improve Sustainable PalmOil Production” in Way Kanan, Lampung Province,Solidaridad launched a support action to keep thefarmers safe and healthy.

Efforts included:

Support and encouragement

Solidaridad’s field staff worked relentlessly in carryingout COVID-19 response activities. There was a spirit ofmutual support and appreciation prevailing throughoutbetween Solidaridad and partners, includinggovernment actors.

Mr. Tatheer Zaidi, Regional Programme Head,Solidaridad Asia, said, “In Uttar Pradesh, the DistrictMagistrates of both Kanpur and Unnao haveappreciated our efforts along with the Principal ofGanesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GVSM) MedicalCollege, Kanpur. The industry associations (UPLIA,STA, LIWA) have also highly acclaimed Solidaridad’sefforts.”


Farmers and community workers expressed theirgratitude towards Solidaridad for supporting themduring the crisis.

“Distribution of masks and sanitisers by TRINITEA hasbeen very useful since we couldn’t go to the markets.We, on behalf of our community, thank Solidaridadimmensely,” said one of the small tea growers fromTinsukia district in Assam, India.

Creating impact digitally

The norms of social distancing required field personnelfrom Solidaridad to devise new methods to guidefarmers and address their concerns. Since lockdownguidelines restricted experts from physically meetingthe farmers, online video interactions were organisedto assist them. For instance, within the purview of theTRINITEA programme, training sessions wereorganised in Jorhat, Assam. In these sessions, the smalltea growers were guided according to their specificdoubts and were also advised about best practices fortheir farm.

Solidaridad leather team also organised webinarsduring 2020-2021, wherein several industryrepresentatives participated from Kanpur and Kolkataregions. Esteemed representatives from the NamamiGange project and the Central Pollution Control Boardof India also took part in some of the webinars.

The coronavirus crisis is not over yet. As the developedworld is riding on a war-footing vaccination drive,developing countries like India are still struggling to geteven 50 per cent of the population vaccinated. It is thuscritical to shield the rural regions from the virulentspread, especially amidst the resurgence of newerstrains of the virus. Protecting the poor and vulnerablecommunities is the need of the hour. Through itsdifferent programmes and on-field staff andvolunteers, Solidaridad will keep up the support inrural areas and continue to pursue persistentcommunication towards creating awareness andspreading positivity during these trying times.

In addition, Solidaridad developed and disseminatedvideos and reading materials (pamphlets) on COVID-19prevention and safety measures for farmers andworkers in multiple vernaculars across its differentprogrammes such as SaFaL, Code for ResponsibleExtraction (CORE), leather, cotton, palm, soybean andothers.

Rising to the need of the hour

Distribution of prevention kits among farmers in Indonesia.

8 | T H E G O O D S I G H T

Distribution of sanitisers andmasks in Sri Lanka.

Donating sanitisers and masks toauthorities in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Distribution of sanitisers andmasks among tea gardenworkers in Assam, India.

Distribution of sanitisersand masks among small teaholders in Assam, India.

Donating sanitisers and masks toauthorities in Andhra Pradesh, India.

COVID-19 relief initiativeby Solidaridad Asia.


COVID-19 relief distribution inKanpur in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Distribution of ration kitsin Rajasthan, India.

Distribution of sanitisers andmasks among tea gardenworkers in Assam, India.

Home delivery service ofagricultural inputs, maintaininghealth and safety in Bangladesh.

Handing over COVID-19 relief kits to the local government in Indonesia.

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MISSION SANJEEVANI

The second wave has left public healthcare in shambles.People have lost their lives due to lack of propermedical facilities and infrastructure. The situation isgetting a little under control in the cities, but it is stillvery grim in rural India where there are issues relatedto access to medical facilities, hospitals, doctors,technically trained staff or testing facilities.

For Oxfam India, the primary focus in the second waveis health. Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar said: “Weare reaching out to public healthcare institutions,district administrations and COVID Care Centres withmedical equipment such as oxygen concentrators,patient monitoring systems, oximeters, oxygen nasalmasks, and thermometers along with PPE kits andsafety kits for frontline health workers.”

Through Mission Sanjeevani, Oxfam India’s COVID-19response in the second wave, it has till now provided 62


Oxygen Concentrators, 75 Oxygen Cylinders (40 lts),nearly 1,200 Oxygen Nasal Masks, 4 BiPAP machines,over 1,000 diagnostic tools/equipment of various types,over 1,600 PPE kits, and 115 Oxygen beds forgovernment hospitals in West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi,Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

In addition to providing hardware support, OxfamIndia is also planning to strengthen the rural healthecosystem in some of the most marginalised andvulnerable communities. Oxfam India also plans totrain 35,000 ASHA workers and provide them withmedical kits for a larger community outreach to ensureCOVID appropriate behaviour and also tackle the issueof vaccine hesitancy.

Apart from a healthcare calamity, India was alreadyreeling under economic stress. Oxfam India has not lostfocus on the fact that the sporadic lockdowns and

Oxfam India has provided 62 Oxygen Concentrators, 75 Oxygen Cylinders (40 lts), nearly 1,200Oxygen Nasal Masks, 4 BiPAP machines, over 1,000 diagnostic tools/equipment of various types, over1,600 PPE kits, and 115 Oxygen beds for government hospitals in West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, UttarPradesh, and Chhattisgarh as part of its COVID-19 response in the second wave till now

Medical equipment and testing kit handedover to CMO Gorakhpur. This was thesecond delivery of medical equipment.(Photo: Ikbal Singh)

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containment zones mean that once again it is theinformal sector workers who are going to be the worsthit.

The latest report from the Centre for MonitoringIndian Economy (CMIE) states that over 1 crore Indianslost their jobs in the second COVID wave and around97% household incomes have fallen since the start ofthe pandemic last year. Millions who slipped intopoverty last year due to job losses are now facinganother looming crisis: hunger. India already has thelargest population facing food shortages in the world,with an estimated 189 million people in India alreadyundernourished before the pandemic began.

Oxfam India is on the ground among some of the mostmarginalised and vulnerable communities with one-month dry ration and community safety kits. SinceMarch last year, it has delivered a month’s ration to

over 4.45 lakh people. They have mostly been dailywagers, rag pickers, house helps, those affected by thecyclones, members of the transgender community,fisherfolk, construction workers, farm labourers, cancerand leprosy patients, tea plantation workers, brick kilnworkers, Pak Hindu Refugees, weaver communities,petty shop owners, homeless and those dependent onalms for a living.

In the first month of its response to the second wave,Oxfam India has provided support in Maharashtra,Delhi, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha,West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. It islooking to expand to at least 16 states again this year.

Since March 2020, Oxfam India has been working in 16states, reaching the most marginalised and vulnerablewith medical supplies, food kits, cooked meals, safetyand PPE kits, cash, and livelihood trainings.

Medical equipment delivered by our colleagues to the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation in Pune.


https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000117811/download/?_ga=2.262188741.854084085.1598210713-1475771515.1598210713

Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar handedover medical equipment to ChhattisgarhHealth minister TS Singh Deo for adistrict hospital in the Marwahi district.

Medical equipment along withoxygen cylinders and oxygenbeds were delivered to thedistrict hospital in Howrah.(Photo: Bratish Sarkar)

PPE kits and other medicalequipment delivered to GuruTegh Bahadur Hospital in Delhiby our director Pankaj Anand.(Photo: Vaibhav Raghunandan)

Oxfam India's humanitarian team hasbeen on the field delivering life-savingmedical equipment to district hospitals.Seen in the picture is our colleagueBholanath Patro. (Photo: Bratish Sarkar)


ANCHORING RESILIENCE,ACTION TO MEET ANUNCERTAIN FUTUREGram Vikas has evolved a multi-pronged COVID-19 response programme to support communities tocope with interlinked threats to health, livelihoods, food, education, and mental health due to thepandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant andunrelenting headwinds for the rural and Adivasicommunities in Gram Vikas partner villages in Odisha.During the first wave, Gram Vikas found thathouseholds primarily dependent on migration bore thegreater brunt of pandemic fallout as they coped withthe sudden loss of jobs and uncertainty surroundingtheir future ability to find work again. However, theeconomic effects of the last one year and the increasedincidence of the coronavirus infection has led to a greatamount of panic and uncertainty amongst themarginalised rural communities it serves.

Today, the uncertainty is far more acute andwidespread, including in children. It doesn’t yet fully


understand the long-term emotional impacts of this onchildren. Many of them are first-generation learnersfor whom the long break from education couldsignificantly affect their learning capabilities andmotivation.

Two field assessments, among 15,500 householdsacross 281 partner villages, in April and May, showedlow vaccination coverage, intensified householdvulnerabilities on food security and incomes,heightened uncertainties for migrant workers andfamilies, and disrupted school education.

Gram Vikas evolved a multi-pronged COVID-19response programme to support communities to cope


Gram Vikas engages with the Anganwadi workers from Kulusingi and ChinasariGram Panchayats in Rayagada district to discuss strategies for COVID-19screening and tackling vaccine hesitancy in habitations mostly occupied by theLanjia-Saura Adivasi communities. (Photo: Chhabi Mohanty)

https://www.gramvikas.org/response-update/

http://www.gramvikas.org/

https://www.gramvikas.org/blg/understanding-covid-19-situation-and-effects-numbers-from-remote-rural-odisha/

https://www.gramvikas.org/response-update/

with interlinked threats to health, livelihoods, food,education, and mental health due to the pandemic. Itsresponse on the ground in the past year helped itidentify large numbers of village volunteers. It believesthat there is a need to harness this spirit and make this aJan Andolan, where it mobilises local communities tohelp themselves.

In the five weeks since it started the response to thesecond wave of the pandemic, it has reached out to50,000 households and supported local governmentsand frontline health workers to counter the COVID-19pandemic in some of the poorest regions of Odisha.

COVID care in remote villages

Many of its partner villages are remote, with no accessto mobile, television, internet connectivity, and a weakhealth system. Gram Vikas' mobile vans with mountedspeakers travel through these habitations playing pre-recorded audio messages on coronavirus preventionmeasures, including wearing masks, maintainingphysical distance, and following proper handwashingpractices. It has so far covered 1,147 habitations across10 districts in Odisha.

Only 16% of the population in its partner villages wasvaccinated as of May 2021. Doorstep vaccine educationby community volunteers mitigates vaccine hesitancyand boosts CoWIN registrations at the village level.They have registered 2,853 persons, between 18 to 44years, in 61 Gram Panchayats for vaccination. It hashelped 23 Anganwadi workers evolve a strategy forvaccination drives.

A Gram Vikas Residential School converted into a 50-bed COVID Care Centre in Thuamul Rampur block hashosted three batches of migrant workers and theirfamilies.

The Centre provides a much-needed healthinfrastructure with testing, quarantining, and isolationfacilities in a region with the highest incidence ofpoverty in the Kalahandi district. It trained 1,397 village health volunteers in the use ofearly detection tools for community-level COVIDsurveillance. They liaise with local governmentinstitutions, Community Health Centres (CHCs), andfrontline health workers to support moderatelysymptomatic persons and those with limited/ no-homeisolation facilities.

It has improved infection prevention, detection andcontrol in health facilities, households, andcommunities through the supply of 1,480 PulseOximeters, 2,734 PPE Kits, and hand sanitisers. Incollaboration with Medical Oxygen for All (MoFA), itsupplied 10 Oxygen Concentrators to five DedicatedCOVID Health Centres each in Gajapati and Rayagadadistricts and seven BiPAP ventilators to Kalahandi andRayagada district administrations.

Need specific support to vulnerable households

The pandemic threatened the already precariouslivelihood, food, and health security of 85% ofhouseholds, more so for those headed by women, withonly aged people, and without a PDS or MGNREGA

Mobile awareness van in Jangyashala village, Chamakhandi Gram Panchayat, Chatrapur Block in Ganjam district of Odisha. (Photo: Rufus Sunny)


https://www.gramvikas.org/blg/mobile-vans-for-covid-19-awareness-in-communities/

https://www.gramvikas.org/blg/tribal-communities-register-for-vaccination-slots-on-cowin/

https://www.gramvikas.org/blg/gram-vikas-sets-up-covid-care-centre-in-remote-rural-odisha/

https://www.gramvikas.org/blg/gram-vikas-community-volunteers-lead-the-fight-against-covid-19-in-remote-rural-odisha/

card. Livelihood crisis worsened with 38% of those withjob cards not finding work.

In collaboration with the village developmentcommittees, Gram Vikas has identified 1,304households with heightened vulnerabilities. They willreceive dry ration, groceries and essential materials kitscustomised to their needs and preferences to mitigatehunger and hardship. Children, sick persons, anddestitute in all the villages will be given additionalhealth and nutrition support.

Support to migrant workers

Livelihood insecurity aggravated for 15% of thehouseholds dependent primarily on mi-grant income.Migrant workers returned to their villages as theyfeared getting infected, faced a threat to their jobs orlost work, or because of an emergency back home.

Gram Vikas has reached out to 5,136 migrant workersand their families in Kerala, directly and in partnershipwith CMID and ESAF Small Finance Bank, with foodand essential materials kits containing rice, flour,pulses, potato, spices, tea, soap, mask, and sanitiser.Gram Vikas’ 24×7 crisis response helpline, the BandhuHelpline, has so far responded to 1,545 calls from itsfour nodes in Kerala and Odisha.

Ensuring equity in education access School closures due to COVID-19 disrupted thechildren’s education, many of them first-generationlearners, from Gram Vikas partner villages in remote,hilly areas in Odisha. Poor internet connectivity,frequent power outages or not having the requireddevices made learning through mobile phones,computers, or television impossible.

It has resumed its technology-equipped, village-levelLearning Centres, set up last year, to enable continuededucation for children in Classes 9 and 10. It will besetting up new centres in the following months.

Gram Vikas staff and volunteers are training to providemental health support to children and to broad baseaccess to psychosocial support at the community level.It is prioritising children living with any acute short-term or chronic long-term diseases and in urgent needof medical care, those eligible for regularimmunisation, but, have not been immunised, thoseseverely malnourished and need immediate attention;and children from extremely poor families with noaccess to social entitlements and are suffering fromfood insecurity.

Anchoring resilience and action in communities

Gram Vikas’ ideas, plans and actions for pathways torecovery from the pandemic are shaped through anorganised prism of resilience. Its comprehensivemethods and systems are geared to improve the copingmechanisms available to the communities. Its focusremains steadfast on building community capabilitiesto view resilience as an ongoing process and adapt torespond adequately to future challenges.

“The need is to strengthen communities' own systemsof resilience to face up to the consequences which webelieve will come over the next few years. We have tobuild resilience, while focusing on the most vulnerable,to make sure that they are not left behind in any way.We are particularly keen to see that children in thevillages who already suffered from the setbacks to theireducation find ways to get back to the environmentthey would get in the school. Gram Vikas stays focusedon helping build a dignified, secure and equitablequality of life for the communities we serve,” says LibyJohnson, Executive Director, Gram Vikas.

Donate to support Gram Vikas COVID-19 response for ruraland Adivasi communities: COVID-19 RELIEF FUND FOR HEALTH & LIFESECURITY


https://www.gramvikas.org/blg/covid-19-response-migrant-workers-and-families-receive-food-and-essential-kits/

https://www.gramvikas.org/blg/learning-centres-help-children-from-adivasi-communities-continue-their-education-during-covid-lockdown/

https://www.gramvikas.org/donation-form-1/

Food kit distribution amongmigrant workers in Kerala.(Photo: Ayaz Anwar)


Jayanti Pradhan, President of the Village Development Committee,and Sanatana Pradhan, a community volunteer, during a door-to-door COVID screening in village Ankulakumpa, in Jagannath PrasadGram Panchayat in Ganjam district. (Photo: Bibekananda Pradhan)

Niranjan Samal, a VaccinationVolunteer of Nuagaon, is helpinghis village residents register forvaccination on CoWin. (Photo:Trilochan Jena)

50-bed COVID Care Centre inKumudabahal village, ThuamulRampur block, Kalahandi district. (Photo: Gokul Nath)


BOLSTERING INDIA’SCOVID-19 RESPONSE “I had nowhere to go. I was so scared. That’s when Icalled NISHTHA COVID Sanchar and they came to myrescue” These were the words of Mukesh Srivastava, a39-year-old man in rural Jharkhand, who felt his worldcrumbling around him as every single member in hisfamily of 12, including his four-month-old baby, testedpositive for COVID-19. His worries further worsenedwhen his oxygen levels dipped below 90. That’s whenhe received a call from NISHTHA COVID Sanchar, anIVRS platform developed by NISHTHA, a USAID-funded, Jhpiego-implemented project in collaborationwith the state government of Jharkhand. The IVRsystem is primarily for persons under homequarantine, persons in home isolation and patients whohave been discharged from hospitals post recoveryfrom COVID-19. The IVR follows up with people underhome quarantine and home isolation for early

identification of symptoms of COVID-19 to enable theright care at the right time for better health outcomes.Once Mukesh shared his concerns on the NISHTHACOVID Sanchar platform, an ambulance reached hisresidence within 30 minutes and he was quickly takento the hospital and given oxygen support. His conditionimproved in the next 24 hours and soon he wasdischarged after recovering.

Mukesh is one among the millions of lives touched byNISHTHA’s COVID-19 response interventions.NISHTHA is USAID’s flagship health systemstrengthening project implemented by Jhpiego, aglobal health non-profit and Johns Hopkins Universityaffiliate. NISHTHA works closely with the Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare at the national level and 12state governments to transform, redesign and

NISHTHA, USAID’s flagship health system strengthening project implemented by Jhpiego, touchesmillions of lives through its COVID-19 response interventions


An elderly woman being givena mark at Nongren HWC inManipur.

re-engineer primary health care in India for theprovision of equitable, comprehensive and client-centered primary health care that contributes toimproved health outcomes for India’s marginalizedand vulnerable populations. In March 2020, when theentire world was hit by the pandemic, NISHTHA actedswiftly by being the first movers in providing technicalsupport at the national level and state level for a robustand comprehensive COVID-19 response andstrengthening the health system’s capacity to make itmore resilient for public health threats. This includedempowering more than 32,000 frontline workers withthe right skills and expertise to prevent and slow thespread, providing technical and policy level support tonational and state governments for COVID-19response; developing risk communication materials tocreate awareness on COVID-19 prevention and addressvaccine hesitancy, supporting local communities,especially vulnerable populations, with the tools

needed to fight COVID-19 and ensuring continuationof reproductive, maternal, newborn, child andadolescent health, as well as other essential services forall sub-sections of the population includingmarginalized communities. Further, when the countrywas hit again with the devastating second wave,NISHTHA expanded its reach and gambit ofinterventions to 16 states (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, MadhyaPradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tripura) andalso worked on strengthening the oxygen ecosystem asthe country struggled to breathe.

India being a diverse country with diverse geographies,requires contextualized solutions for different regions.In view of this, NISHTHA ensured customized andtailormade solutions specific to different states’ needswhich spanned across various areas which are

Project staff creating awareness among residents on NISHTHA Swasthya Vaani IVRS in Barwani, Madhya Pradesh.


Strengthening health system’s readiness andcapacity: In the state of Maharashtra - whichcurrently reports the highest caseload in thecountry, NISHTHA developed a data analyticsdashboard and a predictive modeling dashboard tohelp policymakers better understand the trend andstatus of COVID-19 cases at a glance which will helpthem make evidence-based decisions onpreparedness of health care facilities, areas forrigorous testing and other preventive measuresagainst COVID-19.

Leveraging technology to strengthen surveillanceand decentralize COVID-19 management: Technology is a great enabler for bridging gapsespecially for states with difficult terrains andremote geographies. NISHTHA leveraged thepower of technology to build tech-integratedplatforms and integrated voice recording systemplatforms for monitoring persons under homeisolation, persons under home quarantine andpersons recovered from COVID to ensure for earlyidentification of COVID-19 symptoms and postCOVID complications and enable the right care atthe right time for better health outcomes. Theseplatforms also ensure that people have access tohealthcare through tele-consultation, right at theirhomes thereby decentralizing COVID-19management at primary care level.

Ensuring continuity of essential health services: Atthe core of NISHTHA’s interventions isstrengthening the delivery of primary health care.With the pandemic disrupting the other healthservices, NISHTHA rolled out a telemedicineplatform in Nagaland, a far north eastern and tribalstate of India with difficult terrains to ensure thateven routine maternal and child health services,family planning services and tuberculosis servicesare not interrupted and left behind especially forthe marginalized communities. NISHTHA is alsosupporting other states in strengthening existingtelemedicine platforms to ensure continuity ofservices.

Tapping on the Power of Partnerships –As thepandemic has had devastating effects across thecountry, partnerships have emerged as a powerfultool to bridge the gaps in the public health system.As the country struggled to breathe and faced anacute shortage of medical oxygen, NISHTHAquickly tapped onto to the power of partnerships bymobilizing around 800 oxygen concentrators for

highlighted below:

Empowering communities and reaching the lastmile: At the heart of NISHTHA’s interventions liesthe communities for whom it ultimately caters toand ensures that they have access to quality andaffordable healthcare. As several states faced theproblems of reverse migration and therebyincreased the count of COVID-19 cases, NISHTHAengaged local community leaders and createdcommunity-level groups for monitoring the qualityof quarantine centers. Field workers from the localpartner NGO were also trained to disseminate keymessages on preventive measures of COVID-19 andanti-stigma and discrimination messages. To date,more than 200,000 people have been sensitized onthese key preventive measures. Further, anothermajor issue faced by communities, especially thoseliving in remote and media dark areas, was the lackof access to timely information. In view of this,NISHTHA developed an alternate medium ofcommunication through IVR where people couldlisten to key messages on COVID-19, right at theirhomes wherein more than 1,138,782 minutes ofinformation have been heard. This two-waycommunication platform also includes a grievanceredressal system where local issues of thecommunity are resolved through a set of trainedcommunity volunteers. This has enabled in buildinginformed communities especially those who aremost vulnerable and marginalized and located inthe far remote corners of the country to takepreventive actions for their own health andwellbeing. Going by the motto of ‘leaving no onebehind’, NISHTHA is also working of developingdifferentiated care models on COVID-19 to cater tothe vulnerable sections of the population includingpersons with disabilities, tribal communities,migrant workers, elderly and urban and rural poor.

the states of Nagaland, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh andChhattisgarh from various private sector partners andphilanthropic organizations such as Mission Oxygen,ACT Ventures and Crypto relief fund to ensure peoplehave access to the lifesaving oxygen supply. Further,NISHTHA through its partner PATH is working onstrengthening the oxygen ecosystem and improvingaccess to respiratory care system across six states.NISHTHA is also partnering with AVPN to mobilizeresources for COVID-19 and comprehensive primaryhealth care to bridge the existing gaps as per the needand requirement of various states.


During emergencies like COVID-19 and beyond,strengthening primary health care will ensure resilienthealth systems which are better prepared to face futurepublic health emergencies. Through our interventions,we have touched the lives of around 54 million peopleand we continue to work towards ensuring no one isleft behind in accessing quality health care,” says Dr.Swati Mahajan, Chief of Party, NISHTHA.

“We at NISHTHA work towards building a strongresponsive primary health care system that focuses onspecific health care needs of all sections of thepopulation irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity,religious belief, sexual orientation, place of residenceor socioeconomic status especially the hard-to-reachand underserved communities including vulnerablewomen and girls, tribal and marginalized populations.

NCD screening of police personnel in Tripura.


A woman listening to messages on IVRS in Jharkhand.



COVID-19 screening in Assam. Contact tracing in Chhattisgarh.

Dr Long Kumar Seikh conducting teleconsultation through NagaTelehealth initiative at Seikhazou HWC in Nagaland.

Handwashing demonstration by an ASHA of HWC Soreng duringhome visits in Sikkim.

Community Health Officer (CHO)providing essential services in Chhattisgarh.

Community members being oriented on practising social distancingand other COVID-19 appropriate behaviours in Chhattisgarh.


COVID RELIEF,VACCINATION DRIVE,AND THE ROLE OFHAQDARSHIKAThe second wave of COVID-19 wreaked havoc allacross the country. This time it had a significant impactin the rural pockets, and SRIJAN’s operational areaswere no different. The government made it into amission to ensure vaccinations for all adult citizens.However, mobilising the community to be convincedon getting vaccinated was a problem that arose. Peoplewere vehemently resisting COVID vaccination. Manypreconceived notions and rumours circulated onvarious media platforms had made the peopleapprehensive about getting vaccinations. Initially,vaccination rates were very slow in the villages. The

health care staff were also stretched due to the reliefwork in the villages and ensuring vaccination. It waschallenging for them to mobilise the community ontheir own and also spread awareness.

In all the districts where SRIJAN is operating, the teamsoffered full support to the public administration inrelief work and vaccination drives. SRIJAN donated 5oxygen concentrators to the Community Health Centrein Jatara and 10 oxygen concentrators of 10 litrescapacity to CHCs of Niwari to support the need foroxygen for COVID patients. In the Jatara and Palera

SRIJAN teams offering full support to the public administration in relief work and vaccination drivesin its operational areas


A vaccination camp being organised withsupport of SRIJAN staff and Hakdarshika.

SRIJAN continues to make these efforts in the districts

blocks of Tikamgarh, SRIJAN generated awarenessthrough public awareness programmes andcampaigning. SRIJAN staff worked tirelessly tomotivate people to get vaccinated. Apart from the staff,the community volunteers also played a significant rolein the campaign. Haqdarshikas is a cadre of womenpromoted under the micro-entrepreneurship initiativeby SRIJAN. They have been primarily trained infacilitating the people in their village in accessing theentitlements and provisions offered by the state andcentral governments through various schemes.However, they came forward, took the lead in theirrespective villages, and began busting the myths andmisconceptions around vaccination. They coordinatedwith the SRIJAN team and the health department formobilising the community. They also ensured that allof them went to get the vaccine jabs when thevaccination camps were organised in the vicinity of thevillages. They have motivated and mobilised close to1,500 people to take the first vaccine dose withouthesitation and fear. One of the Haqdarshika Jaywatifrom the village Sagarwara of Palera block ensured that250 residents of her village took the vaccine throughthe vaccination camps organised by the administration.She also ensured that people get a printout of thevaccination certificate to know the dates of the seconddose of the vaccine. All these efforts have resulted in ahigh reduction in the resistance against vaccination.Now people in the village are readily coming forwardand getting vaccinated. Their level of awarenesstowards the benefits of vaccination has also increasedmanifolds.

Haqdarshikas have played a pivotal role in thevaccination drive since it started from the 21st of Juneto the 30th of June 2021. However, they have beenactive in COVID-related services even during thelockdown. They have been working since January 2021in TIkamgarh to facilitate the enrollment of eligiblerural families in the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan MantriJana Arogya Yojana, which provides free health careservices and hospitalisation to the poor. They linkedover 800 families in Jatara and Palera blocks to theschemes. They also worked at the Gram Panchayatlevel to facilitate free ration through PDS schemes forthose not enlisted in the ration card or for the migrantworkers who had returned to their homes. Also, theycontinue to work with the community in linking themto the various COVID relief schemes, direct benefitschemes, medical insurance schemes so that thecommunity that has suffered so much in these times ofpandemic gets some respite and can pick themselvesup and resume their livelihoods.

of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh wherever it isoperational with all means available at its disposal.SRIJAN has donated 73 oxygen concentrators to thevarious Community Health Centres across thesedistricts with donation support from Give India.

The success of Haqdarshika is a result of their trainingthrough SRIJAN and HESPL and her relentless work infacilitating the residents of her village to avail theirentitlements. With her work, she has gained the trustand respect of her community. This is the reason whypeople have been willing to listen to her.

“The COVID pandemic is no doubt the worst calamitythat we have witnessed in our times. The governmentmachinery and the health care department have beenstretched to their limits in serving the people inrecovering from the infection. Rural India was mainlyuntouched by the pandemic in the first wave wasseverely hit in the second wave as it already lacked thehealthcare facilities available in bigger towns and cities.SRIJAN’s outreach and direct engagement at thecommunity level proved to be crucial. It complimentedthe efforts of the public administration and ensuredrelief to a large segment of the rural society. Theseefforts reiterate the role of grassroots NGOs insupporting the community in desperate times. Ournext step now is to work on restoration and revival ofthe lost livelihoods through Poshan Gardens andcreation of seed banks and working on natural farmingduring the kharif season,” says Mr PrasannaKhemariya, CEO, SRIJAN.


Mr Prasanna Khemariya, CEO, SRIJAN.

Haqdarshika taking the temperature reading of one of the women inher village.

Haqdarshika Jaywati with one of the beneficiaries of a governmentscheme facilitated by her.

Oxygen concentrators donated by SRIJAN to the CHC, Jatara.

A woman in Sagarwara village in TIkamgarh getting her first dose of the COVID vaccine. Haqdarshika Jaywati mobilised 250 residents in thisvillage to get vaccinated.


EFFORTS TO FULFILNUTRITIONAL NEED OFCOMMUNITIESCINI Community Initiatives is a sister organisation ofthe Child in Need Institute (CINI). It is a Section 8 not-for-profit Company registered under the CompaniesAct 2013, India. CINCOMM has been incorporated tostrengthen CINI’s mission through the creation ofsocial entrepreneurship opportunities for communitypeople. CINCOMM thus has the dual mission ofcreating community-centric, social ventureopportunities that can strengthen CINI’s mission of‘sustainable development in health, nutrition,education and protection for the woman and child inneed’.

CINCOMM works towards the healthy growth of theunderprivileged community through solutions that

would also create social entrepreneurship opportunitiesfor the community people. CINCOMM offers anintegrated solution towards proper nutrition for theunderprivileged population which strengthens nationalnutritional programmes through centralised as well ascommunity-based production and supply ofsupplementary nutrition – CINI Nutrimix, as well aspre-consumption (assessment, awareness and training)and post-consumption (monitoring, analytics) services.

CINI Community Initiatives response to theemergency:

The country has been facing the COVID-19 pandemicof unprecedented magnitude since its inception in

CINI Community Initiatives has been able to distribute more than 3,00,000 kg of dry ration and1,00,000 kg of CINI Nutrimix to the vulnerable sections of the society since last year


Dry ration kit supply for families atJharkhand in collaboration with DASRAand Child in Need Institute.

CINI decided to serve the vulnerable sections of thecommunity who have been severely hit in thislockdown, by providing them with dry food packetsand Nutrimix (a nutrition supplement, made byCINI which is also of prime importance as thisproduct takes care of the additional requirement ofnutrition for the children, adolescents as well aspregnant and lactating mothers) that are essential tosustain during the period of lockdown. Along withthe essential food packets, hygiene kits are also anecessity to ensure the safety of the families as wellas the community.

CINCOMM designed two kits for the completeprotection and nutrition security for an individualas well as a family of four. One is CINCOMMWellness Kit and the other is CINCOMM GroceryKit. The CINCOMM Wellness Kit is designed for an

2020 and resulted in a serious threat to the health, lifeand economic security of millions of people in thecountry. The second wave of COVID-19 was moredangerous as it collapsed the total health system of thecountry with more people dying with a crisis of bedfacilities, oxygen and many more. This time the viruswas deadlier than the previous year and has been moredamaging to our lives impacting the health, life andeconomic security of millions in a greater magnitude.

The total focus of the government was morecentralised for this emergency COVID responseimpacting the ongoing provision of ration to the ICDSbeneficiaries including the children, pregnant andlactating women. This time the government imposedlockdown with area-specific guidelines and itaggravated the ongoing food crisis.

Whereas the Grocery Kit can serve 240 nutritiousmeals for a full month, along with hygiene andsanitation essentials for a family of four. The kitcontains grocery and sanitation & hygiene staplesalong with CINI Nutrimix, our proprietary foodsupplement, is a wholesome mixture of multiplegrains, iron and iodine salts and a premix of 26essential micronutrients. This kit will help to takecare of the nutritional (macro and micro) needs ofthe entire family providing as well as ensuringhygiene. These kits have been designed keeping inmind the energy and protein needs of an individualas well as a family, along with its hygiene andsanitation needs.

The increasing number of COVID-19 cases requiredmore assistance to the government for bettermanagement of these patients. The system wasstruggling with the huge surge of cases with lackingbasic medical facilities like beds and oxygen sincemost temporary facilities were closed down at thestart of the year owing to the reducing number ofactive cases. CINI in this position stepped forwardto set up ‘Safe Homes’ at different geographicallocations all over West Bengal to cater to the mostnumber of patients where there is an existing lackof health facilities. These newly set up facilities wereequipped with COVID Care Essentials like pulseoxymeter, thermometer, oxygen cylinders andconcentrators, nebulizer’s so that proper care couldbe ensured for the active cases with facilities tomanage them.

individual which will take care of the monthlynutrition supply through CINI Nutrimix along withhygiene and sanitation essentials for an individual.


People standing in queue patiently at one of the dry ration relief camps in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, to receive kits.

The hurdles were aggravated this time like manpowerutilisation, availability of the materials, irregulartransportation, low supply of materials. The staff wereduly mobilised and motivated and also trained to keepthemselves safe and secure from contracting the virusand also spreading them unknowingly. It was also takeninto consideration that the staff are vaccinated toensure their safety with maintaining strict COVID-19appropriate behaviour. It was also very important tomaintain a safe and hygienic atmosphere at theproduction of NUTRIMIX and carrying out the reliefwork. The imposition of the lockdown scenario wasdifferent for administrative divisions which hindered

Journey since 2020

This lockdown scenario has been very demotivating fora lot of people who have already lost their work, are indespair to provide basic amenities for their familiesand are constantly striving to live every day. But evenin this time, CINCOMM staff as a family have stoodwith each other thinking of the greater good they aredoing and responded to their call of duty first ignoringtheir well-being. In this COVID-19 relief work, theyhave been continuing supply to the ICDS beneficiariesin West Bengal and Sikkim ensuring their dailynutritional intake along with private partners.

"COVID-19 was a new situation for us with thepandemic and the lockdown. But it was also necessaryfor us to pivot and utilise our existing capabilities toaddress the need of the hour. We managed to supplyover 3,00,000 kgs of dry ration and over 1,00,000 kgsof our nutritional supplement, CINI Nutrimix. That wewere able to reach so many people in need, despite themultiple challenges, speaks volumes of ourcommitment to the society and the spirit of service ofthe organisation,” says Mr Abhishek Choudhury, CEO,CINI COMMUNITY INITIATIVES.

the supply and availability of the materials for the reliefowing to restrictions in transit and production.Liasioning with different level stakeholders as well asthe local stakeholders paved the way in ensuring thesmooth processing of procurement and distribution.

Reach

Since last year CINCOMM has been able to distributemore than 3,00,000 kg of dry ration and 1,00,000 kgof CINI Nutrimix to the vulnerable sections of thesociety. This year till date CINCOMM has set up fourfully operational COVID Care Centres. CINCOMM hasreached to more than 2,800 families through its reliefsupports.

Fully equipped facilities for COVID-19 positive patients' care and treatment at one of the Safe Home facilitated by Child in Need Institute.


A happy child after receiving the relief kit. A newly inaugurated Safe Home for treating COVID positive patients.

Dry ration kit supply to families at Murshidabad in West Bengal.

The brave hearts who risked their lives to help others amidst theCOVID-19 lockdown.

Happy faces in the time of lockdown as they get the dry ration kitalong with CINI Nutrimix.


TOGETHER AGAINSTCOVID-19As the country came to a grinding halt in late March2021 with a surge of COVID-19 affecting millions acrossthe country, it was clear that no one was prepared toface the ferocity with which it swept across the country.What was clear was that ActionAid also needed to riselike many others to the occasion, reach out to the mostvulnerable, in their battle for survival between the virusand the lack of employment. ActionAid was aided bythe protagonism of the poorest. Many of them cameforward to work as volunteers to reach out to the mostvulnerable in the urban slums in remote rural locations.

Taking lessons from the last year where ActionAidintervened to support the most marginalised withinformation on the disease and with food items, itunderstood that it needed to make urgent healthinterventions to ensure that people have access to


Mobilising community-based volunteers

Colleagues from 1909 community-based organisations,771 grassroots-based civil society organisations andActionAid Association were able to connect with 47,278volunteers, across 705 blocks, in 181 districts, across 20states and 2 Union Territories. Through this combinedteam, ActionAid was, by 15th June 2021, able to touchthe lives of 15,58,443 people across 119 urban localitiesand 5,521 villages.

Reaching out to the most excluded

ActionAid reached out to the most marginalised andexcluded. It supported informal workers in urban areas,landless labourers and small farmers in rural areas,Dalit communities, religious minorities, tribal

ActionAid Association’s response to COVID-19 second wave impacts more than 1.5 million livesacross the country


Dry ration being distributed amongCovid-19-affected families at Balanagarin Begumpet, Telangana, India.

communities, and among them particularly vulnerabletribal groups (PVTG), pastoralists, the nomads and de-notified communities, who continue to face the stigmaof being termed criminal tribes under British colonialrule. In all these communities, ActionAid reached outto women and children because they are the mostvulnerable among these communities. The specificgroups include migrant labourers, daily wage earners,homeless people, transgenders, sex workers, Devadasis,Tamasha artists, domestic workers, the aged, peoplewith disability, single women, people living with theHuman Immuno-Virus (PLHIV), domestic workers,construction workers, sanitation workers and womenvendors. The disaster has affected everybody, butvulnerable and excluded communities are at thegreatest risk.

COVID helpline and helpdesksIf the image of the first wave of the COVID pandemicwhich struck us last year was that of the walking

Next ActionAid was able to contribute to saving lives bystrengthening medical services by providing volunteersto run COVID Care Centres and collaborating withdistrict administrations to set up and run them. Withthe generous support Give India, it is supplying morethan 6,500 oxygen concentrators to primary health

migrants, the image of the second wave of thepandemic is the oxygen cylinder. ActionAid triedresponding as fast as it could. The initial need was ofinformation: “Where were beds available?”, “Where wasoxygen available?”, “Where were medicinesavailable?”… and even medical advice.

By 15th June 2021, ActionAid was running 78 helpdesksacross more than 80 districts, some of these helplineswere national, across 20 states and 2 Union Territories.Around 32,000 calls were received and it was able tohelp around 28,000 people.

Saving lives by strengthening medical services

Cooked food being distributed among labourers in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.


Apart from this, food distribution continues across 20states for COVID-affected families. ActionAid reachedout to 19,347 families directly with dry ration kits across47 districts - containing cereals, pulses, oil and spices sothat they could support their families for at least amonth. It distributed cooked meals among around48,334 individuals.

centres, community health centres and public hospitalsacross around 300 districts in 14 states. This is a biglogistical operation and so far one-third of thedistribution has happened. It plans to complete it bythe first week of July 2021.

Working with local administrations, ActionAidAssociation is helping set up and run 17 Covid CareCentres across Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha,Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Its volunteers are providingsupport in food distribution, taking care of hygiene andsanitation, registration, screening, health check-up,counselling, monitoring of COVID positive cases abouttheir health status etc.

No one is safe till everyone is – promoting universalvaccination

Achieving universal vaccination at the earliest is theonly long-term solution to the COVID-19 pandemicand its evolving variants. While vaccine shortage is oneend of the spectrum of the challenge of achievinguniversal vaccination, vaccine hesitancy is the other.One hears reports of vaccination centres standingempty, without people to vaccinate and villagersrunning away when vaccination teams reach theirvillage. There have been some reports of violencebeing threatened against the vaccination teams.

ActionAid Association recognised the need to proceedon a variety of fronts to overcome vaccine hesitancy inIndia and ensure that vaccine outreach programmesleave nobody without vaccination.

As on 15th June 2021, ActionAid Association India hasraised awareness on COVID-19 vaccination to morethan 8.6 lakh people across 128 districts in 20 states and2 Union Territories.

It is working with district administrations to runvaccination camps so that nobody is left out of thevaccination drive. It is campaigning on the slogan “Noone is safe till everyone is.” This includes universalvaccination. It has been able to reach about 10 lakhpeople with its vaccine promotion programme andhave run vaccine camps in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,Odisha, Rajasthan, Hyderabad and Bihar.

Distributing relief and sanitation materials

It provided sanitation kits to 23,281 families across 29districts. These kits contained masks, soaps, sanitisers,detergent powder and sanitary napkins. These ensuredthat vulnerable families have access to the necessaryelements to protect themselves from COVID-19. Till15th June, it has provided facemasks to 99,834 personsacross 90 districts, face shields to 1,111 persons across 26districts, PPE kits to 2,022 persons across 19 districtsand 1,746 pairs of gloves across 17 districts. It hasprovided the PPE kits to volunteers helping incremation and to other frontline health workers. It hasalso provided 1,136 oximeters across 59 districts in thestates of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, UttarPradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. It also provided 982medical kits.

Protecting children

Children have been hit hardest in this pandemic. Manyhave been left orphaned and many are left with onlyone parent who may not be able to support them well.ActionAid has hence felt that it is important to addressthe issues that the children face, as the surge dips. It feltthat it needs to address not only the immediateproblems that the children face but it needs to startpreparing for the third wave. In collaboration with thedistrict administrations in seven districts namelyNabrangpur, Koraput, Dhenkanal, Rayagada, Gajapati,Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar in Odisha, its DistrictCoordinators are providing support in Child CareInstitutions (CCI). These centres are also provided withsafety kits. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it is in theprocess of setting up paediatric/COVID care centres forchildren.

With the help of education volunteers based in thesame village and keeping all COVID protocols in mind,it has tried to keep children in touch with educationand learning. In fact, it has recommended thateducation volunteers be encouraged to do more suchwork by including this in the schedule of work underthe MGNREGA. Addressing issues of violence

Like in the last wave of COVID-19, the most vulnerableamongst the marginalised populations faced violence.In this period, ActionAid was instrumental inpreventing/stopping 182 child marriages across 28districts. It rescued 48 children engaged in child labourin 10 districts. A total of 95 cases of violence againstwomen were addressed in 18 districts and its teamsstopped six women from being trafficked from twodistricts.


Food and masks being distributed among children at slums in Patna, Bihar, India.

Dry ration kits being distributed among poor people affected by COVID-19 at Boingir in Yadaadri district in Telangana.

Distribution of dry ration and sanitary kits in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.



Cooked food being distributed among labourers in Varanasi, UttarPradesh, India.

Dry ration being distributed among Covid-19-affected families at Balanagar in Begumpet, Telangana, India.

Dry ration being distributed inBihar, India.Dry ration being distributed in Bihar, India.


COMBATING COVID-19WAVE-2 WITHSTRATEGY, ACTIONSIn March 2021, after fighting a year-long battle withCOVID-19, when it seemed that India was "in theendgame" of the Covid-19 pandemic, the second waveof the virus engulfed the country with a ferocity likenever before. Upsetting the country’s strategy to shipdoses of vaccine to foreign countries as part of its muchappreciated "vaccine diplomacy”, the situation in Indiafrom the end of April 2021 was complete mayhem withan acute shortage of hospital beds, ventilators, life-saving oxygen, vaccine and other drugs leading togasping patients and overwhelmed mortuaries andcrematoriums with more than 3.5 lakh new cases everyday and nearing 4,000 deaths, breaking its own single-day records, almost every day. On 6th May 2021, thecountry recorded the highest single-day surge of

4,14,188 cases and on 19th May, the highest number ofdaily deaths (4,529 deaths) were witnessed. The countrywent into a public health emergency.

CINI’s strategy to prevent the spread

Unlike the First Wave in 2020 when support forawareness, food in the form of dry ration and hygienekits were priorities, this time there was a strongadditional demand for medical equipment like oxygenconcentrators, medicines, safe homes/quarantinecentres and treatment facilities.

But since CINI believes in the preventive models ofintervention and since the spread of the virus could still

CINI focused on preventive intervention to contain the spread of the virus and COVID care activitiesto save lives in close coordination with the health department


CINI Tabloid Van moving around thecity to spread awareness on Covid-19.

Few of these CSKs have also started mobileIEC/campaign programmes in the catchment with ahired three-wheeler vehicle (tuk tuk) with publicaddress facility to make the vulnerable populationaware and educated in remote locations. In most cases,these mobile CSKs engage with the community andmap and follow up symptomatic and unconfirmedCOVID cases and mildly symptomatic cases throughvolunteers keeping strong liaison with the governmenthealth system.

be contained by raising awareness and restrainedbehaviour, CINI initiated its first response through theestablishment of COVID Sahayata Kendras or CSK(COVID Help Centres/Kiosks) in the districts of South24 Parganas and few urban wards of Kolkata managedby volunteers that would make the population in itscatchment area aware of COVID protocols andappropriate social behaviour (like proper use of masks,frequent hand-washing using soaps/sanitisers,maintaining physical distancing, eating healthy), linkthe vulnerable population to the available emergencyservices (hospital admissions/availability of beds/drug-stores/medical oxygen/community kitchen/variousservice helplines/ambulances available nearby, vaccinepreparedness/mobilisation for vaccination etc.), keeptrack of the local situation (on the spread) and relatedgovernment orders on the pandemic situationprevailing.

By mid-June, CINI had around 30 such CSKs operatingin the field, very strategically placed either within theBDO office in a rural block, or inside a Block PHC orUrban PHC, or within the COVID hospital of a districtor within the municipality office or even at the policestation. These CSKs primarily meant for the vulnerablepopulation (in the slums, on the streets, in remoterural/riverine villages, hard-to-reach terrains andinaccessible tea gardens), are spread across the lengthand breadth of West Bengal and few tribal districts ofJharkhand apart from the cities of Kolkata and Ranchi.

CINI is also running three 50-bedded ‘Safe Homes’ (inMathurapur-I Block of South 24 Parganas, BerhamporeMunicipality in Murshidabad and Alipurdua-II block ofAlipurduar district) linked directly with the district-level government hospitals in close liaison with threedistrict authorities (of Diamond Harbour healthdistrict, Murshidabad and Alipurduar of West Bengal).Apart from that, CINI is helping the government to runa 30-bedded ‘Safe Home’ in Siliguri MahakumaParishad of West Bengal and another 200-bedded ‘SafeHome’ in Goalpara, Assam by providing some of theequipment cost, running cost and administrativeresponsibility. Through some of the projects, CINI hasalso donated medical equipment like oxygenconcentrators, oxygen cylinders with Flow Meters,masks and PPE kits to the government hospitals andhealth system.

As the second wave of COVID is receding, and theassociated hunger and malnutrition become visible,CINI is also distributing food ration kits among thepoorest of the poor households in urban slums, remotetea gardens, street-connected families and commercialsex workers in the red-light areas of Kolkata and theinitiative is slowing gaining momentum.

At the same time, support to the health system to carryout the essential public health services and nutritioninterventions (like catch up drives to regularise routineimmunisation of children, COVID vaccination drives,IFA supplementation to pregnant women andadolescents, their registration with the health system,routine ANC check-ups during pregnancy, their post-natal care, linking them for institutional delivery, theirattendance in the VHNDs, the hygiene protocols in aVHND) in the pandemic times are also being taken upthrough the existing health and nutrition communityprogrammes of CINI across West Bengal andJharkhand.


Wellness kit distribution to the covid positive family from the CSK at Sarisha, Diamond Harbour II Block in West Bengal.

A visitor approaching CINI Covid Sahayata Kendra set up near UrbanPrimary Health Centre in Kolkata.

Community-level awareness in rural villages through walking postersand miking.

UHND operation amid COVID-19 pandemic in West Bengal.

COVID Jagrukta Rath sensitising community in Kolebita Block of Simdega district of Jharkhand.


A CINI team member handing over a dry ration and wellness kit to amother.

Nutrimix support to undernourishedchildren at Banarhat block.

Inauguration of a CINI COVID Sahayata Kendra at Khunti by the CivilSurgeon.

Promotion of the use of masksthrough an innovative way.

CINI-supported 'Safe home' at Mathurapur-Iin South 24 Parganas district.


REACHING OUT TOVULNERABLE CHILDRENAND FAMILIESTo reduce children’s vulnerability to emergencies,ensuring their rights to survival and development to beprotected during the COVID times, and providing real-time and meaningful support to their families toweather the crisis, Child Rights and You (CRY) and itspartner organisations rolled out various interventionsas part of its relief and emergency plans to fight againstthe current surge of COVID-led cases in India, termedas the Second Wave.

The outreach and impact

During the second wave, with its focused interventionsacross 19 states, CRY launched 4 direct implementinginitiatives aimed at minimising the adverse effects of

COVID-19 on vulnerable children and their families.Covering 44 project areas, CRY has been able to reachout to 2,364 households, 172 AAA ((ANM, ASHA andAWW) workers, 66 Health Centres, 10,939 adolescentgirls, and 8,844 students preparing for Board Exams.

Ensuring access to health and hygiene amid thepandemic

During the second wave of COVID-19 when India wasreeling under a shortage of medical supplies, CRYdonated 396 pulse oximeters, 396 thermal scanners,600 medicine kits and 200 BP monitors to thecommunities across its intervention areas. Also, asundisrupted access to various hygiene products and

CRY, with its partners and volunteers, leaves no stones unturned in ensuring that basic needs ofmarginalised children and their families have not been overlooked


Distribution of reliefmaterials in progress.

To ensure that children’s education was not disrupteddue to the lack of access to resources, the organisationdistributed over 8,844 stationery kits and 3,121examination workbooks to students appearing for theirboard exams in Classes 10 and 12.

sanitary pads for adolescent girls has been limited inthe remote areas, CRY rose to the occasion anddistributed 10,939 sanitary pads, 2,109 PPE Kits, 1,800soaps, 1,34,700 masks and 196 litres of sanitiser.

However, it’s not just marginalised children andfamilies – CRY also distributed 2,858 living guardmasks among 1,450 front line workers, police staff andothers in the districts of Korba, Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh)and Rajkot (Gujarat). In CRY’s intervention areas in theSouthern states (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, AndhraPradesh and Telangana) 39 health centres received PPEkits.

To mitigate hunger and ensure nutritional security,CRY distributed 36.28 tonnes of cereal, 4.37 tonnes ofpulses, 2,197 litre Edible Oil, 2.20 tonnes of sugar, and1.31 tonnes of soya bean chunks in its intervention areasacross 19 states. In Sonari-Kadma (Jamshedpur,Jharkhand), 18,485 packets of milk and biscuits weredistributed on every alternate day to the children of 23Anganwadi centres.

Working towards minimising disruption in children’seducation

During the prolonged closure of schools, CRY, with thehelp of its volunteer teams and partner organisations,reached out to children and ensured that they were notleft out of education.

Awareness initiatives

Generating COVID awareness has been one among thetop priorities of CRY’s response work. From takingdifferent routes to educate households and frontlineworkers about the virus to educating about thesignificance of taking jabs, CRY has been rigorouslyworking and spreading the word about tackling thecrisis the effective way.

The organisation created COVID-19 preventionhotspot in South Delhi for community members withsymptoms of COVID having immediate access to theAnganwadi Centres. CRY along with the help of itspartner organisations also conducted focusedprogrammes on handwash practice, physical distancingand dos and don’ts of COVID-19 in 21 villages of adistrict in Odisha and also in 367 households ofDwarka, Gujarat.

In its intervention areas in Eastern states, CRYconducted mass COVID testing in Manipur wherein 34children were found positive and referred fortreatment. In the South, COVID support groupsstrengthening programmes were conducted to educatethe administration and frontline workers, including


Distribution of relief materials among frontline workers in collaboration with the local police.

“During the COVID pandemic, topmost in our mindswas the thought of reaching out to children and theircommunities, especially in the remote and

village support group members, CDPO, Supervisors,Anganwadi workers, ANM and Sachivalayam MahilaPolice.

In terms of vaccine awareness, CRY organisedcampaigns throughout all four regions of India andmostly involved members above the age of 45 yearsand a total of 3,376 members have been ensured firstdose of vaccines. Also, the organisation generatedawareness about COVID-19 among pregnant andlactating women, children and adolescents via fieldcoordinators. The vulnerable groups were motivated totake COVID-19 vaccine doses too.

Overall, CRY was able to reach out and generateawareness about protection measures against COVIDamong 4,189 households.

Not just offline, the organisation also conducted onlineworkshops to create awareness on COVID AppropriateBehaviour, where 94 children participated in onlineworkshops in Andhra and Telangana.

marginalised sections within our intervention areas,and to ensure their survival and development. It hadbeen a hard battle to secure our children’s education,health and protection issues in place over the pastcouple of decades – it had taken huge efforts,resources, finances as well as building communityhabits – and we just could not afford to let the progressgo to waste. Partner organisations at the grassroots andthe army of volunteers have been the greatest strengthof CRY in these crucial times. From spreading COVIDawareness, supporting children, keeping them engagedin studies and fun activities thus helping them retaintheir resilience and psycho-social well-being,distributing relief materials and advocating for theaccess and availability of services to the communities,supporting the frontline workers and health workers,addressing vaccine hesitancy among people, helpingthe ailing people with finding hospital beds and oxygencylinders, tracking and monitoring the numbers ofchildren who have lost their parents to COVID andtrying to link them to the local administrations toensure support – our partners and volunteers left nostones unturned in ensuring that basic needs of India’smarginalised children and their families have not beenoverlooked,” says Puja Marwaha, CEO, CRY – ChildRights and You.

Distribution of relief materials in a remote village.


Distribution of reliefmaterials.

Providing hand-washing facilities for children and communities atpublic places.

Distribution of relief materials in a remote village while maintaining distancing norms.

Distribution of soaps and masks among children.


Visiting households andcollecting field-level data.

CRY officials preparing to distribute goodies among children in aKolkata suburb.

Customers maintaining distancing norms at a village grocery shop.

A community kitchen centre run by CRY partners in Koderma,Jharkhand.

Hand-washing techniques being demonstrated to adolescent girls bythe field staff of CRY partners.


VOLUNTEERISM PLAYSVITAL ROLE DURINGPANDEMIC


Pandemics can cause acute, short-term economicshocks. As the pandemic outbreak grows, each stratumof society finds ways and means to adjust to the crisis.The middle class and above dip into their savings tosustain through this period. But the daily wage earners,who lead a hand-to-mouth existence, do not have thisprivilege. Pandemic means sudden loss of work andincome, thereby cutting off their access to essentials inlife.

Bhumi in persistence of its mission to strive formeaningful change at the grassroots level, reached outto these daily wagers from unorganised sectors andprovided financial assistance with the support of itsvolunteers, employees and multiple fundraisers acrossIndia.

Bhumi’s COVID relief project provided cash transfersto these families to meet their basic living expenses offood, water, light, rent and more. Its emergencyresponse helped provide a safety net to families whowere worst hit by the pandemic.

This support was extended not just during thelockdown in 2020 but also for the period immediatelybeyond as they slowly got back on their feet.

In May 2020, Bhumi launched the referral system,wherein a referrer would refer beneficiaries frompoor/lower economies, who were supported withfinancial aid after thorough verification.

As a part of this campaign, Bhumi has supported more

Bhumi reached out daily wagers from unorganised sectors and provided financial assistance withsupport from volunteers, employees and multiple fundraisers across India


Bhumi helped farmers by purchasing fruits from them directly in bulkand donated this to the needy. During this drive, around 660 kgs ofgrapes, 300 kgs of muskmelon and 300 kgs of watermelon wasdistributed among NGOs, police personnel at checkpoints and people onthe roads.

than 14,000 daily wagers and families across India.

Bhumi is associated with around 200 orphanages andchildren in these orphanages faced the brunt of the2020 lockdown more than any of us. Mainlydependent on donations, these homes were strugglingto provide three basic meals to their children. Bhumireached out to these homes and provided basicgroceries such as rice, grains, pulses, vegetables, oil etc.,medicines and toiletries such as soaps etc. With the ablesupport of its volunteers, it successfully extended thiscampaign to support more than 10,000 children inshelter homes. Bhumi’s volunteers have always been optimists. Amidstsuch tough chaos, its volunteers also found a way toadapt and engage the children from shelter homes to afun-filled virtual event - Nakshatra Online, a festival ofrecognising talents through arts and activitiesconducted via Zoom or Hangouts applications. A totalof 2,052 children from 714 shelter homes participatedin the virtual event across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,Maharashtra, West Bengal, Assam, Haryana, Punjab,Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha,Gujarat, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, DelhiNCR, Manipur and Nagaland supported by 600Volunteers.

The pandemic itself had brought distress to manypeople from lower economies. In the midst of this,disasters like the floods of Assam and Hyderabad hadcreated huge havoc across the states. Despite the crisis,Bhumi volunteers reached out to the adversely affectedcommunities wherein more than 650 affected familieswere supported with groceries and food packets.

”Through 2021, the virus will continue to remind usthat we live in this shared home - planet earth. None ofus is safe until all of us are. Like the invisible virus, wealso face other challenges like #ClimateChange andgrowing inequalities. Earnings and education lost nowwill continue to impact the lives of many for years tocome. Hence, we the citizens of the world have muchto do together,“ says Dr Prahalathan KK, Co-Founder,Bhumi.

Bhumi's initiatives during the second wave As Indiabattles the catastrophic coronavirus second wave thathas overwhelmed hospitals, with crematoriumsworking at full capacity.

The second wave of coronavirus has once againdecimated incomes and is threatening food security forthe poorest of the poor. COVID-19 has also hit theunderprivileged children of India disproportionately.

Their education and nutrition are both at severe risk.

There is a rising need to support the poor/lowereconomy families and children and to create awarenesson vaccination, Bhumi’s COVID initiatives now involveOxygen & Health Care Support, Scholarship Support,Vaccination Awareness and Mental Health Supportalong with the Daily Wagers Support continuing.The organisation has also introduced DonateOPoly, agaming fundraiser for COVID-19.

About BHUMI

Bhumi is one of India’s largest volunteer organisations.It enables over 30,000 volunteers across India everyyear for the Sustainable Development Goals. It believesthat in every stride it proactively takes, its approach toeducation and volunteerism gets stronger and better.

Its education-led programme bridges the gaps informal education and opportunities by providingunderprivileged children language and STEAMeducation, life-skills support and scholarships forhigher education.

Apart from this, Bhumi also has a Pan India CivicVolunteering Programme wherein volunteers areinvolved in civic activities like beach clean-up andenvironment-related initiatives.

The strength of the organisation lies in its volunteerswho strive to create a ripple for change in the lives ofmany and thus conveying CHANGE TODAY...CHANGE TOMORROW.


Bhumi’s team in Mumbai fed over 100 stray animals for over 15 days.

Bhumi's team in Chennai has supported15 shelter homes with grocery items.

Mugan reached out to the Bhumi helplineseeking support for a fisherman communitystruggling to access government rations. Throughits helpline database and partner leads, Bhumisupported 50 families with 595 kgs of dry ration.

Ramdev Kurre and his group of migrant workers were referred toBhumi by Indus Action for support. They were construction workersstranded in Tamil Nadu with no work and support from thecontractor. Bhumi team was able to connect them with the local policeofficers and government officials to support them with dry rations.

These are testing times, especially for daily wage workersand people from low-income communities. In its modestattempt to support them, Bhumi's Mumbai team recentlyconducted a 2-day distribution drive during which itprovided ration for 15 days to 380 needy families.



BATTLING THE PANDEMIC:NEED TO JOIN HANDS TOHELP HUMANITYThe ongoing second wave of COVID has resulted inunprecedented loss to human lives and livelihoods. Forthe last two months, India has been battling anexponential growth in new cases and mortalities thatshook the entire frontline healthcare response system.Strained beyond means, the nation looked in horror tofind daily reported cases touching over 4 lakh a day.Although the situation has improved in recent days, allmust remain vigilant and prepare themselves better tofight this pandemic.

As a responsible corporate citizen, HP believes it is itsduty to support the healthcare infrastructure, thegovernment and NGOs operating at breakneck speedto ensure the recovery of those impacted by the virus.

The country can only win this battle by combiningeveryone’s efforts and working together. All HP Indiateams join the organisation in its deep commitment toserving its communities in India, especially thoseimpacted by the ongoing health emergency.

Supporting the vaccination initiatives

The safety and well-being of its employees and theirfamilies is the company’s core commitment. To ensurethis, it has introduced a vaccination programme for HPemployees and their families across India. However, itbelieves it’s our responsibility to aid with relief effortsand deliver last-milelast-mile help for the marginalisedsegments of society who lack access to digital

To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, HP India facilitates registration of people on the Co-WINportal, makes medical oxygen accessible to communities in need


HP's PROJECT O2, in partnership withJubilant Bhartia Foundation, making medicaloxygen accessible to communities.

infrastructure. To that end, it has rolled out fewinitiatives that work across specific priorities incombating the COVID catastrophe.

Co-WIN Registration Toll-Free Number- For thosewithout digital access

With a sizeable population of India having restrictedaccess to smartphones and internet connectivity,misinformation and lack of resources are preventingmany people from getting vaccinated. TheGovernment of India recently announced the thirdphase of the vaccination drive, catering to the 18-44 agegroup. Approximately 59 crore Indians belong to thisage bracket. Walk-in registrations for this segment havebeen allowed by the government for a limited numberof registrations daily at the Govt Covid vaccinationcentre (CVC). However, the severity of the spread ofCOVID-19 increases the risk of people getting infectedat these often-crowded centres.

HP India believes that no one should face hurdles ingaining access to the vaccine only because of the lack ofa phone or PC. Through its Co-WIN registrationinitiative in partnership with the Jubilant BhartiaFoundation, it is helping citizens, especially those whodo not have easy internet or smartphone access, toregister themselves safely on Co-WIN. Its aim is to helpmillions of such people across the country, securing thegovernment-mandated registration on the Co-WINportal in the easiest possible way.

If you know anyone who is struggling to access the Co-WIN portal due to lack of access to a smartphone orPC, HP India requests you to direct them to its toll-freenumber 18004194961 for help in CO-WIN registrations.Its helpdesk supports queries in English, Hindi,Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.

#HelpTheHelp- Our employee outreach thatpromotes doing good

It’s inspiring to see HP India employees lead efforts toregister blue-collared workers for vaccine drives. HPIndia is starting these efforts across Bengaluru, Kolkata,Chennai, Gurugram, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Pune.

#HelpTheHelp community vaccination project istargeted towards ensuring timely inoculation of blue-collared helpers and people from economically weakerbackgrounds. The project enables HP India employeesto facilitate free of cost registration and vaccination ofblue-collared domestic helpers like drivers, house help,cooks, nannies, security guards etc at a pre-informeddate, time and venue. The program mainly facilitates

the registration of people who are needy but are eithernot able to find slots at Govt CVCs or not able to meetthe vaccination costs at private hospitals.

PROJECT O2- Making medical oxygen accessible tocommunities

To address the rising demand for medical oxygen inDelhi NCR and Bengaluru, HP India is making oxygenconcentrators available to patients with mild tomoderate symptoms. To ensure this, it has activeinvolvement of its employees as well in all itscommunity-led initiatives. A dedicated team of HPemployees has been set up to identify needy peoplefrom the community and further extend the support.Through this initiative, HP India hopes to make iteasier for patients at home to gain access to medicaloxygen before they are shifted to a hospital bed withthe necessary medical infrastructure.

The pandemic has taught us that everyone isvulnerable irrespective of his/her background.However, fundamental differences such as theprevalent digital divide could just accentuatechallenges. Besides access to medical infrastructure, HPIndia has tried to bridge these gaps to the best of itsability. It ardently hopes that these initiatives will helpto ease some of the pain points that people are facing inthis second wave.


HP's PROJECT O2, in partnership with Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, making medical oxygen accessible to communities.


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