-GaonConnection.com A recent rural survey of 300 respondents in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, found 38% respondents preferred quacks for treatment, commonly known as nadi babas. Against 14% registering for COVID vaccination, only 4% went ahead for inoculation. These challenges need to be addressed urgently as the virus has spread in rural India. Sixty five per cent of India’s population resides in rural areas, while only 33 per cent of the health infrastructure caters...

-The Hindu The public sector, private players and civil society should all work together for public service delivery COVID-19 has tested the resilience of all public institutions. Despite its efforts, bureaucracy has emerged as a major concern for the ineffective response to the COVID-19 crisis. This inadequacy is the reflection of the outdated nature of public bureaucracy. In the 21st century, democratic countries are still relying on traditional bureaucracies to perform public policy...

-Article-14.com Scepticism about Covid-19. Lack of smartphones, health information and healthcare. Resistance to vaccination. We found a perfect storm devastating the poor, southwestern interiors of India’s most-populous state. Banda (Uttar Pradesh): “At least one person in every household here is extremely unwell.” Shivdevi, who uses only one name, has over a decade’s professional experience as a journalist and has been reporting from rural Bundelkhand in southwestern Uttar Pradesh (UP) for the women-run, grassroots...

-CaravanMagazine.in As the second wave of COVID-19 spreads to rural areas with minimal healthcare, villages across the Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh have been conducting a 21-day puja to ward off the virus. The puja involves worshipping and invoking the protection of local patron saints, collectively referred to as Dih Baba, and pacifying goddesses associated with epidemics, such as Sheetala Mata. “Hospitals are in terrible condition and there are no medicines,...

-OutlookIndia.com/ PTI Contact tracing, active surveillance for influenza-like illnesses, and separate Covid care facilities for suspected and confirmed cases are a few of the new measures suggested by the Centre Amid the second wave of the pandemic sweeping across the country, the Centre on Sunday issued a new set of guidelines to contain the spread of the virus in peri-urban and rural areas. This development comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra...