The COVID Crisis in India
As we all have been witnessing, the COVID-19 crisis in India is deepening and spreading. The second wave of the pandemic is affecting almost two-thirds of the population directly or indirectly with devastating consequences. This second wave comes on the back of widespread food and financial insecurity amongst the poorest households in India. We are already seeing increasing medical emergencies, serious hunger and unemployment this year.
The situation is precarious in extremely polluted cities like New Delhi where many people have died, mostly due to lack of oxygen and access to timely treatment. Lockdowns have been imposed in the States of New Delhi, Karnataka, and in many parts of Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat. As we saw with the first lockdown, thousands of migrant workers have again started to return to their home villages. Across the country there are reports of increases in the number of forced early marriages of girls and incidences of domestic violence against women and girls. The so far uncontrollable spread of COVID-19 is reaching the most vulnerable communities in rural India, home to 800 million Indian women men and children.
It is with these communities that our partners work. We have been in touch with our partners, and they are expecting the coming weeks to get much worse. They continue to work tirelessly to support communities, providing crucial information, PPE, access to medical care and livelihood support and promoting collaboration and solidarity.
Support Us
AVI is prioritising support to our partners in their response to COVID-19 and we are raising funds through our Solidarity Appeal, which we started at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Please share any support you are able to give. All funds will go directly to our partner organisations in India.
Donate to the Solidarity AppealHow our Partners are Responding
At the heart of our work, are our partnerships, and many of these have spanned decades. Our partners, whether large or small organisations or social movements, all work directly at the grassroots level across rural India – from Bihar and Jharkhand in the North, in Odisha and down to Tamil Nadu in the South. The communities they work with are some of the poorest in India. They are experts in their fields and work hand in hand with local people to design and inform their projects to best serve their local communities and secure rights and social justice for women, men and children.
Please see how our partners are responding to the COVID-19 situation in various parts of India and the difference your contribution will make.
ASSEFA CRUSADEOur Community of Supporters
Individual Fundraisers
Over the past few weeks there have been a number of supporters who have organised events in support of our COVID-19 appeal. We would like to thank:
- The Wholefood Store Manningtree for donating their dosa sale profits to the COVID Appeal and for promoting our cookbook. www.thewholefoodstore.co.uk
- Simon Brice for organising a curry night in support of our COVID Appeal. After a huge success, Simon is organising more curry nights. currynight.org
If you would like to organise your own fundraiser in support of our COVID Appeal, please get in touch with us.
NishkamSWAT
NishkwamSWAT has donated 15 Oxygen Units to NBJK and 24 units to Ekta Parishad.
In many villages health care is not available and in the rural areas where Ekta Parishad works, community members do not readily go to the hospital out of fear that they will be unsafe. Ekta Parishad’s village volunteers monitor the situation in the villages. They check the oxygen levels and temperature of the community. When someone’s oxygen level reaches a critical level, they will use the oxygen units to provide oxygen to patients before transferring them to a Block Level hospital further away. Ekta Parishad will place the oxygen units in local government health centres and field staff in collaboration with local nurses and doctors who are medically trained will manage the oxygen units.
NBJK, who normally run an eye hospital in Bahera (50km from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand) is designating one of its hospital floors as a Covid Care Centre, with 30 beds, out of which 20 beds will include an oxygen unit. The hospital will see patients from the surrounding rural areas who cannot afford treatment elsewhere. NBJK currently have 5 oxygen units and the donation of 15 oxygen units from NishkamSWAT will be used in this Covid Care Centre.
NishkwamSWAT is continuing to raise funds to support communities in India.
Support them by donating via the button below.
NishkamSWAT is a charitable organisation based in the UK. Their primary function is to unite and transform financially disadvantaged communities by focusing on projects which make a difference to people’s lives and improve their prospects. Read more about Nishkwam SWAT on their website.
Donate to NishkamSWAT's JustGiving Page Website NishkamSWAT