Covid-19 India Press Release
- By Oxfam India
- 30 Mar, 2020
Oxfam India writes to Prime Minister, requests urgent measures to fight Coronavirus in India
Oxfam India today released an open letter (attached) to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for an eight-point plan that includes focus on increasing free testing, ensuring gender and socially inclusive response, and enabling the civil society network to join the fight against coronavirus.
The pandemic has caused widespread suffering in rich countries, overwhelming some of the best healthcare systems in the world. In India, high levels of poverty and inequality risk accelerating the disease, the public health challenges are even greater.
This is a public health emergency which requires government to provide free healthcare, testing for all. Testing should be made free in both public and private sector in line with the recommendations made by the ICMR; current private sector rates capped at 4500 INR are too expensive given that 74.25% of households earn less than 5000 INR per month (SECC, 2011).
Safety of health workers and those on the frontlines of the response must be ensured by making available personal protective equipment to minimize the risk of their infection and monitor and prevent any discrimination or attacks on health workers.
Measures taken as part of the recovery package announced by the Finance Minister are welcome. However, more could be done. According to the World Bank's Global Findex Database 2017, 20% of Indian adults lack a bank account; 54% of women's Jan Dhan accounts are inactive. Some of India’s most marginalized, like unregistered construction workers and those without Jan Dhan accounts, will remain outside social protection during the pandemic.
Urgent support is needed for migrant informal sector workers including food, temporary housing (for those stranded) and cash transfer. The government should explicitly ban reduction in workforce of MSMEs and other enterprises and put a freeze on any evictions and demolitions in all low-income settlements for the duration of the endemic.
Amitabh Behar, Oxfam India CEO said “These are unprecedented times. We need community support and compassion in these times. We have suggested an eight-point plan which includes allowing the civil society to respond to this public health emergency. Civil society can potentially help by pooling resources, running awareness campaigns and addressing issues of livelihood and providing relief material. To make this happen, we need Indian government to provide guidelines which would help transport relief material and enable volunteers, staff of credible organisations to support the response on ground.”
India has a small window of opportunity to implement prevention measures to stop and delay the further spread of the pandemic. The world into which we would emerge at the end of the pandemic would be a fundamentally different one. All steps need to be taken to ensure that it is a better one.
Oxfam India is coordinating with different inter-state agencies across various states in India to prepare a relief response. We are also appealing people to support our effort and donate https://www.oxfamindia.org/coronavirus
Note To The Editors:
Oxfam India’s spokespersons are available for interviews on different issues- Health, Education, Inequality & Humanitarian Response. To arrange interviews or further queries please contact Himanshi Matta, 91-8860182310
Recent News
Related Stories
07 Jul, 2022
Lohardaga, Jharkhand
Samar and Aarti Go To School
In Lohardaga, we are running 4 Mohalla Classes where 75 children are attending these Classes. The children were not able to continue their studies when schools shut during the second wave. Anita and her husband did not have enough money to get the children private tuitions. They stopped studies and spent all their time playing. But things changed once Oxfam India started Mohalla Classes in the village. Samar and Aarti joined these classes too along with 20 other children in the village.
Read More
09 Jun, 2022
New Delhi
Food Stall Supports Families
During lockdown, Oxfam India and CFAR provided rations to communities through Mission Sanjeevani. “Given that employment opportunities were almost non-existent during that time, we reached out to CFAR stating that we wanted to work independently to generate our income,” says Jaya. CFAR and Oxfam India then provided material to set up the stall, kitchen utensils for cooking and rations. Soon after, the food stall was up and running. The Mahila Shakti SHG members also set up a group bank account for themselves.
Read More
09 Jun, 2022
New Delhi
Cash For Livelihood
Salma and Zareena had struggled financially their entire lives. As if that was not enough – the lockdown worsened their situation and left them struggling to even get basic necessities like food. With financial support from Oxfam India’s Cash Transfer Programme, they now generate their own income, support their families and are independent.
Read More
30 May, 2022
Uttar Pradesh & Jharkhand
1081 Out Of School Children Enrolled
As of 30 May, we enrolled 1081 out of school children in 7 districts in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. First with the sustained efforts of the Mohalla Classes and later with a dogged enrolment drive in 7 districts—Raebareli, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Gumla and Lohardaga—these children now have a shot at a better future.
Read More
