NEW DELHI: ChildFund India, in collaboration with Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian aid group, is once again proactively responding to the COVID crisis for vulnerable communities in the states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and other.
Project HOPE and ChildFund India aim to ensure availability of basic medical equipment at local health systems – the Primary and Secondary health care centers, which serve as the COVID Care centers, in the highly vulnerable districts of these states, assist frontline workers with PPE and medical essential kits and improve access, affordability, and accessibility of the COVID -19 vaccination and related materials for all vulnerable groups.
This initiative is a part of the overall response ChildFund India has devised to fight the 2nd wave of COVID-19 across the 15 states it works in. ChildFund India’s overall efforts are aimed at reaching 1 million people, including children, across 15 states/UTs through vaccination drive and support at least 10 million people through overall response. In addition, the most vulnerable people are being supported with food baskets, hygiene kits and psychosocial support. ChildFund India is engaging with state and district health departments, corporates and community-based frontline workers to extend support efficiently.
To enable India to tackle the pandemic and prevent it from becoming more widespread in the hinterlands, conducting a large-scale vaccination drive is imperative. ChildFund India and Project HOPE are actively disseminating information material relating to the same, dispelling any myths, tackling misinformation, and undertaking mobile campaigns on vaccinations in coordination with the local governments. Additionally, efforts are being directed towards ensuring a steady supply of medical equipment and medicines, training of ASHA workers in primary and community healthcare centers and identifying and addressing the prevalence of COVID in communities.
Neelam Makhijani, Country Director, ChildFund India said, “For the past one year, we have been working relentlessly in the field, helping semi-urban and rural communities handle the impact of pandemic. In responding to the 1st wave, we reached out to 1.5 million people, providing them with relief material, livelihood recovery opportunities, psycho-social support, and necessary medical aid. By virtue of our presence on ground, as the 2nd wave hit the vulnerable communities, ChildFund India collaborated with Project HOPE to ensure that the local primary health care centers have the necessary medical equipment to save lives at risk. Our next step is to protect our children from the impact of COVID by leading a vaccination drive.”
Chris Skopec, Executive Vice-President – Global Health at Project HOPE said, “Now is the time for collective action, and stakeholders from across the ecosystem need to work together and enable each other to respond to the pandemic. India’s health and critical care facilities have collapsed, and people are left to die on the streets. This is a race against time to save lives. As our intervention continues, our hope is to help India overcome this devastating second wave and be prepared for a possible third wave.”
