Oxfam India

In India, over 200,000 people are infected with the Novel Coronavirus and more than 5,700 have died. These numbers are increasing with every passing day.

Oxfam India is on the ground responding with cooked meals, dry food ration, and safety kits including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in nearly 14 states.

Why we need to respond

• The lockdown has affected migrant workers and daily wage earners the most; they are 90% of our Indian workforce in the informal sector.
• They depend on daily wages to meet their everyday basic requirement – food, medicines and even water. This will push them further into poverty.
• Lack of access to free and quality healthcare means that they do not have access to medical care if and when they are diagnosed with COVID-19.
• There are 4 million homeless in urban India who are at greater risk of the infection due to their living condition.

How are we responding

• Oxfam India is working in nearly 14 states.
• 52,355 packets of ready to eat cooked meals have been distributed to migrant labourers, construction workers and homeless people in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• Over 100,000 have been supported with dry food ration in Maharashtra, Delhi, UP, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala. The ration kits will last for almost a month.
• 5,552 safety kits have been distributed in states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Gurgaon & Kerala for the frontline health workers including doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and other support staff.
• 3,000 PPE kits for frontline workers in Bihar like ASHA, ANM, One-stop crisis centre and Police stations, and district administration offices. This was distributed through the State Health Society.

5.5 million people have been reached through awareness generating messages on COVID-19 by using various innovative communication mediums such as mobile vans, miking from public places such as temples and mosques. These have been well appreciated by respective state governments.

Response to Cyclone Amphan

A Double Disaster: A super cyclone amidst COVID 19 situation

Extremely severe cyclone Amphan directly affected more than 6,00,00000 people and destroyed more than 10,00000 houses in India, with more than 650,000 people were evacuated from their homes in West Bengal and Odisha. The West Bengal Government has pegged losses at around 1 Trillion Indian Rupees

The situation of people on ground after the lockdown was already heartwrenching and the cyclone has broken the backbone completely. It will take years for many of them to recover from the shock of COVID 19 and Cyclone Amphan.

The immediate impact of Amphan across the worst hit areas could be streamlined at three levels – loss to life and property, loss to basic infrastructure and the loss to livelihoods due to saline water intrusion and large-scale inundation.

Initiatives taken

Oxfam has already conducted a rapid need assessment with the support of local partners immediately after the floods. Contingency stock for 3500 HH prepositioned with INSS has been moved for distribution in three districts – 24 Parganas South, 24 Parganas North and East Midnapore.

Emergency Shelter: Provide shelter kits or materials for transitional shelter making for the worst affected households and provide Cash Transfer support to worst affected people for shelter repairing and restoring

Safe practices related to WASH(Water Health & Sanitation) : Distribution of Hygiene and Safety Kits, Distribution of PPE kits for Doctors, Health Workers, and Training of the partner staff, community level health workers  and the Panchayat functionaries on Safe Practices related to WASH

Improving the resilience through Emergency Food Security and Vulnerable Livelihoods (EFSVL): Identify the most vulnerable families, daily wage earners, tribal, dalits and other marginalised groups, and support them through Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT)/ dry food kit/ cooked food/ voucher items for food security, other essentials and for the revival of small scale livelihoods activities to ensure their survival during the days of immediately after Amphan.