COVID-19 | SNEHA

Working through a pandemic

Measures taken by SNEHA as response to COVID-19

Mumbai

In the current crisis of COVID-19 pandemic, the immunity of our beneficiaries is even more critical to prevent them from getting infected. We continue to work on improving the health of our beneficiaries, with special focus on pregnant women, malnourished children and anaemic women and adolescents. The fear of contracting COVID-19 and staying indoors in congested homes has also seen increased stress levels and the need for mental health interventions as well as addressing domestic violence.

SNEHA works in slum communities in Mumbai (Dharavi, Wadala, Govandi, Mankhurd, Malvani, Kurla, Kandivali), Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayandar, Ulhasnagar and Bhiwandi-Nizampur directly reaching about 300,000 women and children and indirectly reaching over 1 million population. Currently the teams are working from home over phone/online to address the COVID-19 crisis through more than 8000 community-based volunteers as well as continuing our regular work on health and safety.

Our COVID-19 focus is on 3 aspects

Awareness creation

Educating slum communities on preventive measure like handwash, personal hygiene, symptoms of COVID-19, proper usage of masks, social distancing and other such precautions. This is done through direct phone calls to beneficiaries and through our community volunteers who help reach more community members. Communication material created by SNEHA team can be accessed here.

Working with Government

We are working closely with senior Government functionaries at the city and state level to ensure continuity of health services for pregnant women, anaemic women/adolescents and immunisation of children; advocating for supply of rations at concessional rates, as announced by the Central Government and conducting online training for front-line healthcare workers on COVID-19.

Direct Services

This includes distribution of food rations to needy families with no access to the public distribution system; supporting frontline health workers across the 7 Municipal Corporations with supply of masks and sanitizer bottles; continuation of counselling services to address mental health issues and cases of violence against women and children.

Our response till date

5,300 ration packs distributed to needy families directly and in coordination with other NGOs, voluntary organisations and corporators. 14,250 boxes of fruits and vegetables to needy families in Dharavi. (Data as on 18 May, 2020)

Material provided to 7 Municipal Corporations to keep health workers safe (Data as on 18 May, 2020):

10,000 caps
10,000 latex gloves
6,578 sanitizers
6,500 disposable face masks
8,400 cloth face masks

More than 25,000 phone calls made to systems staff (Municipal Corporations, ICDS, Police), community volunteers and direct beneficiaries for coordination and awareness generation.

Continuous awareness generation through phone calls to slum communities on hand wash, personal hygiene, symptoms of COVID-19, proper usage of masks, social distancing etc.

Emotional resilience sessions are conducted through group calls with ~72 adolescents in a day. Over 300 anaemia follow-up and nutrition counselling have been conducted with adolescents. Our Clinical Psychologists have provided mental health counselling to 111 adolescents.

Online training by SNEHA to 145 ASHA workers and 136 Mahila Arogya Samiti (MAS) members on preventive measures, proper use of mask and identification of early symptoms and referral for COVID-19.

Our 24/7 crisis helplines and the ONE Stop Centre (OSC) at KEM Hospital are functional and we are providing phone and online counselling to women and children in distress. Read more here.

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Further Reading:

Society for Nutrition, Education
& Health Action (SNEHA), Mumbai
Behind Building No. 11, BMC Colony
Shastri Nagar, Santa Cruz West
Mumbai 400 054
India

Phone
(+91 22) 2661 4488 / 2660 6295 / 2661 4476
(During office hours 10 am - 7 pm)

For women and children facing violence
crisis@snehamumbai.org
+91 91675 35765

Accreditations

Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA)

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