Response to COVID19 in the Ganjam district of Odisha, India

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Both COVID19 and India’s lockdown of the country in response have created multifaceted problems for poor and vulnerable people living in slums and rural areas. Migrant labourers have been hit particularly hard with no earnings and no transport facilities to go home. The state and central government have appealed to the NGOs to intervene in the critical moment.

PTF and the Indian Development and Relief Fund (IDRF) are co-funding an emergency response project to be implemented by Youth for Social Development (YSD) in Ganjam to:

  1. Create community awareness for preventive measures on COVID19 and provide a safety hygiene kit
  2. Support the chronic poor with dry food and essentials to overcome the hardship
  3. Identify the left out poor (eligible families) and connect to the government benefits and ensure registered poor get their entitlements
  4. Assist institutional quarantine facilities at the Gram Panchayat level (infrastructure, facilities, management)

Furthermore, YSD will advocate with local and block and district government to recognize migrants and connect them benefits particularly the special assistance and other issues arising due to Corona. YSD as member to the civil society group and IAG-Odisha working with the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) can take the issues to the state level.