-Down to Earth These communities have suffered on most social indicators due to a mix of poor logistics as well as prejudice and ostracisation   Dalit, Muslim and Adivasi households and neighbourhoods have suffered terribly in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the months following the declaration of the countrywide lockdown, data collected by a group of civil society organisations has showed. These communities were not able to avail...

ActionAid Association's (AAA) national level survey among people dependent on the informal economy during the third phase of the national lockdown towards the end of May 2020 (i.e. between May 14th and May 22nd, 2020) has documented the "nature and extent of the transitions in the lives and livelihoods of informal workers, including migrant workers, during the pandemic and provide[s] an insight into the precarity they experience and the coping...

-The Indian Express Floods might be as old as Assam, but fighting a pandemic in these swirling waters is a whole new challenge for even the most seasoned health worker. GUWAHATI: It is the wind that has helped Pratima Barman plan her day as an accredited social health activist (ASHA) in Assam’s Dibrugarh district for seven years now. In the sapori (island) village where Barman lives, a strong gusty wind, coupled with...

-The Hindu True self-reliance won’t come from relentless industrialisation, but from localisation and decentralisation, as demonstrated by these remarkable stories of empowered rural communities Not so long ago, Dalit women farmers in Telangana used to face hunger and deprivation. Today, they have contributed foodgrains for pandemic relief. Farmers on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border have been sending organic produce to Bengaluru even during the lockdown. And Adivasi villages in central India are using...

-India Spend Dungarpur: Hunger and malnutrition are likely to become more acute among young children and pregnant and lactating women in Rajasthan’s tribal belt as community health workers, who deliver public nutrition schemes, struggle with the food shortages caused by the ongoing lockdown, our field report shows. The delivery of food and ration kits for vulnerable social groups has also been impacted by the extra load of COVID-19 duties assigned to the...