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Author: Smile Editorial Team

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Child Rights – Social impacts of COVID-19

Child Rights – Social impacts of COVID-19

Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic has affected over three million people across the world and the number continues to grow with each passing day even after five months since its outbreak in Wuhan. And this pandemic is not going anywhere. The disease that is affecting the health of millions of people around the world will leave its scar on the global population. One of the most prominent, besides economic effects, will be its effects on children. Children worldwide might not be at as high a risk of contracting the disease as adults, mostly above the age of 60 years, but child rights have been left unchecked and vulnerable in the midst of the pandemic.

 

With the attention of authorities and agencies across the globe focused on combating with COVID-19, child rights face severe violations in terms of education, healthcare, safety, and sustenance. As of 2019, an estimated 386 million children across the world are living in extreme poverty, as per a report by the United Nations. The pandemic is expected to result in around 66 million children falling into poverty as the world struggles with a crippling economy.

 

Besides poverty, children around the world have also lost access to education. 188 countries have imposed lockdown in order to break the spread of disease which has affected the education of 1.6 billion children and youth world. Two-third of the countries with mandatory lockdown have provided for distance and digital learning to the students. However, for children without access to the internet or a device to access the same, there are no measures taken to prevent their education from being hampered. Only 30% of the children in developing nations are able to continue their education amidst the lockdown.

 

 

368 million children in 144 countries rely on mid-meals for nutrition and survival provided in their schools. With lockdown in place, such children are at a high risk of malnutrition. Not only this, but children are also losing out on essential healthcare and vaccines for diseases like polio and measles in the present situation. The mental health of children is also vulnerable to the lack of nutrition and from being limited to the confines of their homes. They are exposed to a disease that can turn fatal in the absence of sufficient healthcare as they live in unsanitary and crowded conditions in slums and in refugee camps which have a limited supply of water and almost no means of practicing social distancing.

 

Another imperative part of child rights that are currently being violated is the safety of children. Thousands of children worldwide are being subjected to mental, physical, emotional, and sexual violence during the lockdown in their homes. Children are also facing a threat as they risk being exposed to inappropriate content as well as online predator due to the increase in the use of online platforms for education. Children living in institutions, refugee settlements, slums, children with disabilities, and more are at an even higher risk of facing child rights violations in unimaginable ways and the current world order is engaged in fighting the pandemic to pay sufficient attention to the needs and safety of the children.

 

The need of the hour is to rebalance and implement a combination of interventions to minimize the damage that physical distance and lockdown is causing to the children. In such a critical situation where there is not enough manpower on the ground to cover every aspect of the social needs of the people, we all need to do our bit to ensure the safety and welfare of the little ones of the society.

 

 

The governments across the countries need to develop and execute a framework to prioritize the continuity of child-centering services in terms of education, healthcare, and safety. Authorities need to put in extra efforts and focus on equity of access to schools, immunization, nutrition, neo-natal and post-natal care for mother and child as well as community services that have been designed for the welfare of the children.

 

Awareness sessions need to be conducted on media with the high audience to educate parents, guardians, caregivers as well as communities to educate them about the risk that children in and around their houses face and how they can help in reducing the violation of child rights around themselves.

The policy brief by the United Nations on the impact of COVID-19 on children states, “while children are not the face of this pandemic, its broader impacts on children risk being catastrophic and amongst the most lasting consequences for societies as a whole.” This holds true in its entirety. If actions to promote the safety and prosperity of children are not taken, then the situation that began as global health emergency will effectively turn into degradation and the reversal of the global development of the future generations.

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Insights

Life after COVID-19 – What the future might hold?

Life after COVID-19 – What the future might hold?

COVID-19 entered the human system from animals and spread out across the globe affecting more than 3 million people in 210 countries since its outbreak in Wuhan last December. The disease has changed the complete structure of the world system that had been in place for decades now. It not only challenged and revealed the major loopholes and faults in the healthcare system of the world but also immensely affected the lifestyle of the common people and the life after COVID-19, will be significantly different than the one prior to it.

 

The disease has confined a third of the global population within their houses for the past month and has affected all the established systems for work, education, essential commerce, recreation, health, and much more. Most of the people of the world today are living their regular lives on the telephone or the internet in some form. Whether to execute your office or attend classes or entertain oneself. People have had limited to no human contact in the last few weeks.

 

So, the question stands – what will life after COVID-19 be like, and what will be the new normal?    

 

The two most important changes that will take place in the life after COVID-19 and must be employed by all us and the people in authority are to embrace the humanity and fraternity we are experiencing presently; and strengthening the current health system.

 

 

The pandemic brought us closer as a human community and addressed the fact that we are interconnected with and interdependent on each other in ways we were not aware of before. Our well-being and health are dependent on the health and well-being of those around us and not just at the level of our neighborhood but nationally and internationally as well.

 

A disease crossed the barriers of country borders, distance, cultures, systems, and everything that was in place. Our collective health also affects the global businesses and economies at both the national and international level. The solidarity and support that every one of us has received as we stay cut off from the outside world proves the strength of humanity and the need for a supportive community.

 

While we have the privilege of working from home and staying safe, there are people still going out into the world to take care of the sick to deliver groceries and essential items, to keep our areas and localities clean and sanitized. These workers are essentially keeping our societies running during lockdown at the risk of their and their families’ lives. For the first time, the contribution these people make to keep our lives healthy and smooth has been acknowledged at a global, and people have come forward to support them in these difficult times.

 

The second and in fact highly important step will and must be of structuring a universal healthcare system that is sufficiently equipped to handle a pandemic which could be far more deadly than the present one. With globalization, there has been a significant decrease in the living spaces between the humans and the wildlife. This puts us at the risk of contracting some other virus from the millions of unknown ones that the wildlife hosts.

 

In a scenario, where the virus is airborne making it even more contagious, has a longer incubation period, asymptomatic and worst of all, has a much higher mortality rate like Ebola or bubonic plague, the current world healthcare system will crumble to its knees in no time and millions will lose their lives.

 

 

Governments worldwide must take important measures to prioritize the well-being of their citizens and begin investing more in improving and strengthening the healthcare system than they do on defense. For the worst war that humans might face will be waged by nature.

 

It is crucial to implement a universal healthcare system that is equipped with adequate PPEs and equipment to deal with a crisis of a much higher scale. A standardized system that mandatorily trains not just the healthcare workers but every one of us on the correct ways of dealing with a contagious disease and the protocol that must be followed to ensure minimal loss of life and higher functionality of hospitals and medical staff.

 

Without these important measures in place, the world is walking on crutches and dreading to come face to face with a situation that has not been experienced in the past 100 years. For another pandemic is inevitable and if we are still not ready to bear such a crisis, life after COVID-19 would be futile and inefficient.

 

To help the underprivileged support by clicking on https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/smile-fights-covid19/

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In The Spotlight

Empowering women continues during COVID-19

Empowering women continues during COVID-19

Empowering women is the need of the hour. Women getting an education, healthcare, safety, equal opportunity, and a life of independence and dignity has been a mission for visionaries around the globe. As per a report by McKinsey, an estimated $770 billion would be added to India’s economy by 2025, if gender equality is effectively achieved in the country.

 

However, the mission and hopes of millions of women and men to empower every woman in the world have come to a sudden pause in the midst of the recent pandemic of Coronavirus disease or COVID-19 which has infected over 3 million people globally in the last five months.

 

As per the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a woman is affected thrice as much as a man due to this epidemic. A working woman with children now is working from home, doing household duties, taking care of kids, and now also needs to pay attention to homeschooling her children to prevent them from having a mental breakdown from being locked inside the house all the time. This is the “triple shift”, i.e. three times the amount of stress a woman is suffering from due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

 

Young girls face a possible loss of education due to the lack of digital device making them vulnerable to early marriage and exploitative relationships. Presently, 743 million (UNWomen report) are out of school and adolescent girls are the most at risk of facing gender-based violations starting with the loss of education.

 

Smile Foundation has been actively working in empowering women and in turn strengthening their families and communities for the past 15 years. Under its vertical with a focus towards empowering women, Swabhiman, Smile creates awareness among women in underprivileged communities about their health, education, and essential needs during periods, pregnancy, and prioritizing their health and welfare to take better care of their children and families. Alongside this, academically high-achieving girls are provided yearly scholarships until the completion of their college to promote girl education and encourage families to prioritize their education over social and domestic duties.

 

Continuing the work to promote girl education and women welfare during the COVID-19 crisis that has put a third of the world’s population into lockdown to cut the spread of the virus, Swabhiman officers and community mobilizers are still working on the field to help women in underprivileged communities. With the country in lockdown, most of the daily wage and migrant workers have lost their source of income as well as are not able to acquire essential resources for their survival. Women are especially susceptible to the worst of it for they will put the needs of their children and families before attending to themselves. To help women take care of themselves as well as their families, Swabhiman community mobilizers have crucial in dry ration distribution to such women and address their healthcare needs as well during a time when everyone and everything is focused on fighting the pandemic.

 

Through telephonic calls and text messages, the mobilizers have kept in constant touch with the existing beneficiaries to help them deal with the stress of the situation and help them reach all the support necessary to help them ease through this period. In the past 3 weeks, these mobilizers have also facilitated four institutional deliveries by helping pregnant women understand the signs of labor and bringing them to the hospital and ensure that these women get the necessary medical attention during childbirth.

 

Smile also ensured that its Swabhiman Scholars are able to continue their studies digitally during the lockdown and not losing out on any opportunity to progress even as the world has come to a standstill. These adolescent girls under the scholarship program were given tablets which have been of immense help to them in continuing their studies online.

 

 

Guardians of the girls who don’t have tablets but do have a smartphone at home are regularly counseled and advised to let the device be accessible to the scholars for the purpose of their studies. The girls are also being presented with material and resources along with few apps for online courses to not lose even a day’s worth of studies as well as engaged in English communication courses to make the most of their time at home.

 

As the world works relentlessly to fight and stop the pandemic, Smile Foundation ensures to fulfill its existing responsibilities towards women and society and not let a pandemic become an obstacle for girls and women in achieving a brighter future and a healthier life that empowers them to realize the best of their potential.

 

To help in empowering girls and women donate on https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/she-can-fly/

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In The Spotlight

Mission Education children receive COVID-19 aid

Mission Education children receive COVID-19 aid

The world as we knew is no longer the same as the disease that entered the human system from animals spread out across the globe. COVID-19 or coronavirus disease that was noticed by the people in late December last year in China has now infected an estimated 3 million people in 210 countries has not only challenged the healthcare system of the world but also the lifestyle of the common people had employed for decades and has also affected the routine of Smile’s Mission Education beneficiaries.

 

The disease has confined a third of the global population within their houses for the past month has affected all the established systems for work, education, essential commerce, recreation, health, and much more. Most of the people of the world today are living their regular lives on the telephone or the internet in some form. Whether to execute your office or attend classes or entertain oneself. People have had limited to no human contact in the last few weeks.

 

It is a necessary step required to break the chain of the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. India’s population has been under strict lockdown to cut the spread of the disease in the nascent stage which has so far been successful curbing the number of cases in the country. In the view of the present situation where a part of the population does not have the means to connect with relevant contact points for their needs, it becomes the responsibility of the abled to not leave behind and by helping and taking care of such people through communal contribution.

 

Smile Foundation has been actively working towards fulfilling its responsibility to the society and reaching out to the people who have no source of income as well as resources for survival due to the mandatory lockdown across the country.

 

 

Besides providing dry rations kits to the underprivileged communities living in urban slums, rural villages and remote areas, Smile Foundation, through its Mission Education vertical, is also addressing the urgent assistance required by such communities through tele-counseling and awareness sessions, associating with government and non-government agencies to help families in distress to reach out to people who can help them, and reaching out children who are being affected by the situation and experiencing emotions they do not fully understand.

 

The project coordinators of Mission Education centers around the country regularly call their student beneficiaries to spread awareness to the students, their families, and community stakeholders about COVID-19 and the means like practicing hygiene and physical distancing to protect themselves from contracting the disease. The children and their families are also provided with information related to important numbers to seek support in case of any symptoms of the disease or if they experience any personal crisis.

 

Children and their families are also being provided counseling to understand and deal with the stress and anxiety that everyone is experiencing due to limitations to movement and to human contact.  So far, our coordinators have reached people living at the project locations in Siddharth Nagar, Bangalore, Gurugram, Gonda, Bharatpur, and more. Their progress and needs are also being tracked by our coordinators by checking up regularly with them and get an update on their health and needs.

 

Mission Education has also teamed with governmental and non-governmental agencies who are conducting local distribution of food and rations to the underprivileged communities. The representatives sharing the details of the local resource points as well as connect them with people who can provide them with essentials like food, water, or medicines in case of an emergency. Mission Education coordinators have been able to help desperate families facing difficult circumstances by reaching out to them remotely.

 

 

The field workers of Smile Foundation are also volunteering for the local administration to provide support to them to reach out to the maximum population for creating awareness and with the distribution of relief material in a shorter span of time.

 

In all our efforts, our most important tool has been technology which has helped in not letting any of our beneficiaries remain isolated from the help and relief they need to get through the COVID-19 crisis, for countering this pandemic does not just require the efforts from our medical workers and scientists but also the collective efforts of the masses and administration to bring everyone out of this crisis healthy and prosperous.

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In The Spotlight

Earth Day celebrations in the midst of COVID-19

Earth Day celebrations in the midst of COVID-19

As the evening falls and the temperature drops with it, one can smell summer during the evenings and nights. The smell of grass, flowers, leaves in clean air reaches one’s room. The skies are clearer and bluer and full of hues, rendering all the photo editing tools useless. The air feels lighter and cleaner, water more transparent, and the only thing littering the streets and roads are the leaves and branches fallen from the trees. Earth Day, this year, is one of a kind as it completed 50 years.

 

COVID-19, that has affected more than 190 countries across the world, is posing an unprecedented challenge for which none of us, in the present century, were prepared. When more than half the world was forced to shut down as the spring arrived earlier this year due to a pandemic, it had an unexpected impact globally.

 

The air quality around the world has improved drastically and the level of pollution has cut by as much as 60% as factories and air and road traffic have been stopped. The water in rivers and lakes is clearer due to the lack of ships and boats, and sightings of unique animals and mountain ranges are reported which has not happened in decades.

 

 

With the human interference in nature reducing drastically, Earth has started showing signs of getting healed. However, it is fairly temporary and the situation will worsen once the lockdown is lifted. Even with a number of positive news in terms of air quality, the effect of COVID-19 on the environment will be immense due to an increase in the production of bio-medical wastes. Single-use plastic is being used more to deliver food to people as they stay at home to prevent the spread of disease. Most of this waste is not being recycled due to the fear of virus propagation. A few incidences of illegal deforestation, poaching, and fishing have also come forward in nature conservation zones as the surveillance has to be shut due to the pandemic.

 

The few positives that happened during the global lockdown which this Earth Day is witnessing is all set to be eclipsed by the negatives when the world goes back to being as it was before the lockdown. Besides the inevitable rise in global air pollution, overexploitation of natural resources to balance the economy and increase employment will also be witnessed when the pandemic is over.

 

It is just a matter of time that humans being as selfish they are, return things the way they were before the pandemic hit the world.

 

The world did not need a pandemic for the people to realize the benefits of being responsible towards nature. The environment around the world has been degrading at an alarming rate for the past decade and still, no effective means have been implemented to conserve and reverse the effects of extensive exploitation of resources for the benefit of humans.

 

 

The reason why a pathogen that is usually found in animals managed to enter the human body is primarily because of human encroachment is animal territories. There are millions of other virus strains and pathogens in animals, which can reach humans and prove to be far more dangerous and with a higher mortality rate than the current COVID-19. As we destroy the homes of wildlife and force our way into their territories, we leave the human population vulnerable to these diseases.

 

It is, therefore, immensely crucial for all us to do our part and protect the world we will get in our lives to live. A healthy environment would result in a healthy human being at risk of lesser diseases. Maintaining a balanced eco-system and respecting the needs of animals, trees and every necessary ecological entity is essential and needs to be implemented urgently. For even if humans manage to find another life-sustaining planet within this galaxy, reaching it will not be possible any time soon if we destroy our home.

 

This Earth Day, let us all pledge to not ignore our duties towards our world and do our part in improving the health and well-being of the environment and our planet.

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Insights

Woman fighting against corona pandemic

Woman fighting against corona pandemic

The phrase ‘rise up to the occasion’ fits perfectly with the efforts that two of the community mobilizers, Manju & Savita showed on the ground amidst the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak at one of the project location, Surat Nagar Phase 2 Gurugram. Surat Nagar phase 2 is an urban slum where we can find a large number of people in the unorganized sector and daily wagers, the sector which was largely hit by the lock down situation to prevent the spread of the corona pandemic.

 

All this started with lock down when there was a sudden suspension of all field activities at once and the whole team was asked to work from home. Quite clearly, working from home was not something that would align with the role of the mobilizers and realizing the situation is worsening for the underprivileged people, the mobilizers were decided to step up in order to help the community out of this unprecedented crisis.

 

They connected with the local leaders over phone calls, reached out to local government officials and all local grassroots organizations and made every necessary effort to make sure that the deprived ones are taken care of. They were able to mobilize the availability of cooked food directly provided to the people from the Nigam office (local government office and are continuously creating awareness on maintaining social distance and hygiene in the community.

 

In a situation, where almost all of the population is confined to their houses, the worst affected are the daily wage workers like the ones residing in Surat Nagar. Their mental health suffers in an unexpected way due to the lack of income and the possible difficulties they will face in surviving through the lockdown. Through telephonic calls and text messages, a constant check of the beneficiaries is being kept by Savita and Manju to help them deal with the stress of the current situation and bring all the support they might need in these testing times.

 

 

In the past 3 weeks, these mobilizers have also facilitated four institutional deliveries by helping pregnant women understand the signs of labor and bringing them to the hospital and ensure that these women get the necessary medical attention during childbirth.  

The two mobilizers also ensured that the people of the communities they serve do not struggle to feed themselves. With the help of Smile Foundation, they helped our volunteers to facilitate smooth implementation of the initiative of providing relief to underprivileged people through the distribution of dry rations. The kit will consist of food, medicines, soap, and sanitizer for people to maintain both health and hygiene.

 

Both women not only took adequate measures to sanitize the venue of relief distribution but also conducted a session to spread awareness among the masses on the need to protect themselves from the spread of the novel corona pandemic.

 

Staying in the same community and tackling many odds in their own lives, Manju and Savita have set an example of empathy and resource mobilization. Without the assistance of such dedicated grassroots level workers, Smile Foundation would have succeeded in distributing over a million meals to people across the country. Our strength lies in our partners who are true warriors in this time of emergency.

 

Help provide relief to the underprivileged https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/smile-fights-covid19/

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In The Spotlight

COVID-19 – A shared responsibility*

COVID-19 – A shared responsibility*

COVID-19 shattered the walls of superficial differences among people. Every person is equally susceptible to this disease and its social and psychological effects.

 

The lockdown implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19, left thousands of people stranded in the middle of nowhere without essentials. I was one among them when the country was put under lockdown on March 24, 2020. I was on the country tour for the promotion of my album and somewhere between Odisha and West Bengal on my bike, 3000 KM away from my home when the lockdown was announced.

 

I had all the money I could have needed to get myself a place to sleep or food to eat but in my bank account. I could not find even a single hotel, lodge or guesthouse to rest for a night. I did not have any cash on me, the ATMs were shut and my cards useless under such circumstances.

 

 

As I struggled to reach my home, I came across hundreds of people walking to reach their homes in the midst of the pandemic. With cities shut, they had lost their sources of income and had no reason to stay in the city or the means to reach their homes. All of them just trudged ahead in the hope of reaching the safety of their homes as was I.

 

When I reached the Maharashtra-Karnataka state border, I had the assistance of the police and CRPF forces who provided me with the means I needed to reach home. One of the CRPF personnel asked me if I had anything to eat. I said, “No”. He, then, gave me the food he had on him and said, “feed a poor soul in return of the food I am giving you!”.

 

This action and sentiment of a stranger, whose only duty is to implement the lockdown and ensure everyone’s safety, had an immense impact on me. After nine days of struggle without food, water, or sleep, I reached my home. Grateful to have a shelter, a bed, and enough food for myself, I thought of the thousands of migrant workers, who like me were trying to reach home away from hunger and struggle. I do not know if they reached their homes or not, or if the ones who managed to reach their destinations had food in their homes or not. I had the food I needed when I reached home, I only pray that all these people have the same.

 

Nitish Pires was stuck on the road for nine days due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

 

I am extremely grateful for the services provided by the state and central government and to all the doctors, policepersons, and every individual working on the frontline to protect us all from COVID-19 as we do our part by staying at home.

 

As essential as it is for this lockdown to continue to contain the spread of the virus, we all need to stand together to get through this crisis. We who have the necessities and resources to make it through the present situation must extend a helping hand to the ones who are, now, left with nothing.

 

In a bid to do the same, I have teamed up with Smile Foundation, with whom I have worked numerous times for fundraising for social welfare, to raise funds to provide the underprivileged of the society with the rations essential for survival. Smile Foundation is also working relentlessly towards doing its part in providing relief to underprivileged people by providing them with dry rations. The kit will consist of food, medicines, soap, and sanitizer for people to maintain both health and hygiene.

 

The current circumstance requires us all to come together to help the most helpless overcome the difficulties alongside ourselves. Smile aims to not leave any individual behind in this fight against an invisible enemy through communal effort through awareness and aid.

 

I request every person capable of sparing anything to come forward and contribute to this cause. No amount is insignificant and every contribution will help a person suffering in these difficult times to make it through to the end of the tunnel.

 

To donate, please visit – https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/smile-fights-covid19-brand-tree/

*Views and experienced narrated in the blog are of Nitish Pires, Indian Film Music Director

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Insights

Social distance isn’t emotional distance!

Social distance isn’t emotional distance!

The recent pandemic of COVID-19 has forced over one-third of the world’s population to limit themselves to their homes. A lot of countries, including India, have implemented a complete lockdown to break the spread of the virus, without which the virus would have resulted in a chain reaction too difficult to stop or even control. In such difficult times, it is important for all of us to contribute towards containing the spread of this disease by practicing social distance and by avoiding the outside world except in times grave of necessity.

 

However, it is impossible for human species to practice complete social distance and the task of staying at home all the time for more than a month now has started taking a toll on the mental health of the people. Reports of people suffering from anxiety, low moods, frustration, and inexplicable stress and fear are coming out regularly from every stratum of society. Adults are finding it difficult to maintain focus and deal with the dual responsibility of handling both the professional and domestic lives since the lockdown is preventing people from employee domestic help; children are unable to tackle being stuck at home and not being able to explore outdoor activities or meet their friends; while elderlies keep themselves occupied just with the television and limited to no interaction within the family due to mounting pressure on the working members.

 

Without a healthy social life and regular in-person interactions, it is becoming immensely hard for every one of us to maintain the lifestyle we all have become accustomed to. The social distance, we all have been advised, requested, even forced to practice is the critical need of the hour. It does not have to translate into emotional distance and isolation. In fact, the exact measure we have been asked to take is physical distancing. Not being out in public, maintaining physical distance from people without or with symptoms, and limiting any activities that include assembly of more three people.

 

 

At a time like this, it is even more important to not lose our emotional fiber and cut-off from the people close to us simply because of the lack of physical meetings. Keeping up a healthy emotional connection with not just the family members but also any person you might come across – a neighbor, a grocery delivery person, a medic, anyone, will help us in maintaining the mental calm we all require presently.

 

As bad as the situation due to COVID-19 is, we all have gotten a rare opportunity to sit back and build stronger social fibers and emotional bonds with our family members, friends and even the people we do not know too well but always hoped to. Breaking the monotonous cycle of daily life, especially those of people living in the metro cities, we can utilize this chance to come closer to everyone we have known over the ages.

 

Remember the time when people used to send each other letters instead of simply dialing up someone’s number on the phone? That era has gone but the situation is similar to it. Today, we have technology at our disposal to connect with people from all around the world and nominal to no cost as we all practice social distancing.

 

Staying away from our loved ones or being at home with the people you love for such a long stretch of time have opposite effects. When we spend 24×7 time with someone with confined space, it causes cabin fever, while staying away from the people we love in a scary situation such as this pandemic, causes a high level of fear and anxiety.

 

 

To counter both the reactions that we are facing under the lockdown, we must invest ourselves in more than just working on our laptops from home and consuming content from OTT platforms. Connect with people using technology, speak out your feelings and emotions, share the common feelings we all are going through, finish the book you could not find time to read, take an online course in the language always wanted to learn. It is important to expel the emotional energy that builds within us during social distancing and trying new things at home so as to not isolating ourselves from the world.

 

Social distance is to prevent us all from catching an untreatable disease, not to prevent us from staying connected at heart.

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Smile

Coronavirus Pandemic – A Shared Responsibility

Coronavirus Pandemic – A Shared Responsibility

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed India into a state of uncertainty. Healthcare professionals are fighting in cohesion against this disease whose antecedents and treatment options are yet unknown. However, one cannot deny that the unprecedented nature of this epidemic has prompted its people to take a united stand in tackling this contagion. The fight against this novel disease cannot be won unless we assume shared responsibility, though this appears a bit challenging as the high density of population involving a major part living in rural villages and urban slums is at a high risk of being afflicted by the virus spread due to community transmission.

 

The government-mandated lockdown has had a dampening effect on the country’s economy as business houses clamped down on their operations leaving the informal class stranded amidst a sudden job crisis. The unprivileged section was forced to migrate to their villages and towns, thus, testing the states’ preparation to deal with this sudden exodus.

 

Mobilization of Resources

 

To deal with a pandemic of such unequaled proportions necessitates mass mobilization of resources apart from the optimization of those at our disposal. While we applaud the incumbent government’s efforts to contain the virus spread, it becomes imperative for us to come forth and extend help where necessary. The private sector has shown tremendous efforts in helping the government by donating huge amounts to the PMCares Fund, hiking production of sanitizers, masks, personal protection equipment, and building hospitals at short notice besides facilitating food and shelter to the migrant laborers dependent on their daily wages for survival. An increasing number of people are contributing in an individual capacity apart from paying advance wages to their domestic workers and their helpers.

 

Mission Education children receive COVID-19 aid

 

Collective Responsibility is the Key

 

While the government has been ramping up efforts to identify possible the coronavirus pandemic hotspots and test more people to track the spread, we citizens must adhere to government guidelines and take care of all necessary precautions listed for our safety. Exhibit collective responsibility by maintaining the prescribed physical distancing or going outside only to buy essential commodities. While we educate our children about the importance of washing hands regularly with soap and water, we must also consider donating soaps and sanitizers to the marginalized groups to help them maintain personal hygiene.

 

Avoid participating in mass gatherings, overcrowded places or religious congregations is another way prescribed to avoid encountering possible virus carriers, thus, helping stifle a possible plague-like situation.

 

Educate the Vulnerable

 

Most evils in society stem from illiteracy and poverty. Fake news circulating on social media platforms or mischief mongers peddling hate messages have aggravated unwarranted psychological stress among the uneducated and uninformed. As a society, we must educate these people on the latest developments while drawing their attention to essential steps like wearing clean masks, frequent washing of hands, cooperating with healthcare workers carrying out door-to-door surveys and rushing to the nearest hospital on a sudden onset of early symptoms.

 

 

Stigmatization and discrimination against coronavirus warriors or frontline workers have put many lives to risk. Educating the masses about how their unprincipled attitude will aggravate the problem is a must. Participating in public awareness campaigns to share reliable information will ensure the implementation of best practices in our fight against this pandemic.

 

Collective Recognition

 

Coronavirus pandemic is a national problem that needs to be recognized and tackled collectively. Flattening the curve can be gained only by assuming collective responsibility to ensure that no Indian remains bereft of health and social policy responses. Extending help and necessary support in the spirit of solidarity will fortify the government’s directed efforts at tackling the disease.

 

Not too many people can remain stoic in a situation like this. However, unwarranted panic will not help ease the situation either. Taking precautionary steps, ensuring timely treatment and following government-issued recommendations in letter and spirit will help overcome this difficult situation within a few months.

 

Smile Foundation is also working relentlessly towards doing its part in providing relief to underprivileged people by providing them with dry rations. The kit will consist of food, medicines, soap, and sanitizer for people to maintain both health and hygiene. In addition to this, teleconsultation of the existing beneficiaries of Smile’s health vertical will be conducted to keep a track of their health. People will be connected with digitally by Smile on Wheels agents and a record of their health conditions will be maintained. They will also be referred to a doctor or medical institution in case of a medical emergency.

 

A situation like a coronavirus pandemic requires us all to come together to help the most helpless overcome the difficulties alongside ourselves. Smile aims to bring together all the communities in this fight against an invisible enemy through communal effort through awareness and aid.

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COVID-19 Pandemic & its Effects on Women & Girls

COVID-19 Pandemic & its Effects on Women & Girls

With each passing day, the number of cases of COVID-19 pandemic is climbing across the world. Any effective treatment or vaccine is still months away from reaching the masses and in a situation such as this, the only defenses people have against this disease are social distancing and good hygiene.

 

One-third of the world’s population is under severe lockdown with more people being put in home quarantine every day to contain the spread of the virus. A significant population worldwide has been affected severely by COVID-19 pandemic even if they do not have the disease and it does not discriminate against who it affects and how severely. Every person is equally vulnerable before the disease and people with previous ailments even more so.

 

However, the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic are the women across the world. As per the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a woman is affected thrice as much as a man due to this epidemic. A working woman with children now is working from home, doing household duties, taking care of kids and now also needs to pay attention to homeschooling her children to prevent them from having a mental breakdown from being locked inside the house all the time. This is the “triple shift”, i.e. three times the amount of stress a woman is suffering from due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

As many as 70% of women work in the retail, service and hospitality sector and the lockdown in majority part of the world, a large number of people have lost their jobs, out of which 60% are women. In many developing countries as in South Asia, as many as 80% of women work in non-agricultural jobs in informal employment (ILO report).  These women do not have any legal security from the state to prevent them from losing their livelihood. The poorest are the worst hit. 57% of women who work part-time will lose their jobs in less than a quarter due to the economic slowdown that the virus is resulting in.

 

 

Besides the economic toll, women stuck at homes due to mandatory lockdown are also significantly vulnerable to domestic violence and abuse. A UN official reported a spike of 25-30% in domestic violence since February 2020 across the world. Young girls face a possible loss of education due to the lack of digital device making them vulnerable to early marriage and exploitative relationships. Presently, 743 million (UNWomen report) are out of school and adolescent girls are the most at risk of facing gender-based violations starting with the loss of education.

 

Migrants and refugees across the world are especially vulnerable because the conditions they live in make it impossible for them to practice social distancing and the lack of access to water for maintaining hygiene is another difficulty these people face. Women again are worst affected as their need for hygiene and healthcare increases during menstruation and pregnancy.

 

With hospitals working full-time at the highest capacity and utilizing every available medical worker to fight COVIS-19, there is a special risk for pregnant women and women with some critical reproductive ailment. (As per UNFPA) Safe childbirth while protecting the infants from possible infection from COVID-19 poses a possible threat in the developing and underdeveloped regions of the world.

 

A large bottle of hand sanitizer sits next to a door as fans prepare to enter the arena for an NBA basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

 

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to the world that every individual is equal in its eyes and in this world. The current situation has also brought has closer to work together as a single unit in this fight against an invisible enemy.

 

The crisis faced by women can be appeased if smart and adequate steps are taken by the communities and authorities. Most governments across the world have made it mandatory for employers to provide paid leaves to the sick and implemented laws to prevent employees from laying off workers. This will help women in handling their finances, in case they are the sole earners in the family.

 

Women representation in decision making about how to handle the situation at the economic, social and individual levels from local to international circles is crucial for effective measures to be orchestrated. Gender-sensitive budgeting, prioritizing healthcare, food security, education, and more is the need of the hour to not let economic and social inequality hamper the progress that the world as a whole can make in coming out of this pandemic.

 

It is important to not let this disease push the world back from the progress made in terms of empowering women across the world. As effectively as this situation is being handled by the government across the world, ensuring that women are not left behind in the process can be achieved easily through a fusion of equity and gender-sensitive policies.

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