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‘Some Teachers and Students were Found COVID-19 Positive’

The ‘Inside Districts’ series launched in April 2020 is a one-of-its-kind attempt to capture the experiences of district and Block-level officials, panchayat functionaries, beneficiaries, and frontline workers, on their challenges and best practices.

This interview was conducted with a Block Education Officer (BEO) in Maharashtra in Hindi on 4 March 2021, and has been translated.

 

Q: Have schools reopened now?

Block Education Officer (BEO): Schools had reopened. Standards 9th to 12th started on 23 November 2020 and we got a good response. After that, from 27 January 2021, classes for Standards 5th to 8th were also started.

We were taking all sorts of precautions. Schools were sanitised, RT-PCR tests were conducted for teachers, and only one student was allowed to sit on each bench. Thermometer, thermal scanners, disinfectant, oxymetres were also made available in schools.

However, the virus still reached the schools, some teachers and students were found COVID-19 positive. After that, we received instructions from the District Magistrate to close all the schools till Standard 9th from 4 March 2021.

Q: What about the ICT infrastructure in the schools of your Block?

BEO: ICT infrastructure and related facilities and resources are available in 95 per cent of the schools.

Q: Have schools started giving mid-day meals (MDM)?

BEO: No, we were not providing MDM even when the schools were open. Students were asked to eat at home and then come to school, tiffins were also not allowed. Ration was given to the parents instead of MDM. Now, the schools have been closed again, but we are continuing to give ration.

 

More experiences can be found on the dedicated Inside Districts platform.

Sleuthing Urban Local Body Finances

India is fast urbanising; there is no need to use statistics to prove that, they are plentiful and available in granular detail. A Census is due this year, and when the statistics are available, we will have an idea of the decadal growth in the twenty-teens. In many states, particularly in the west and the south, urban populations will overtake rural populations in the coming decade.

Growth in the metropolises, cities with a population of a million or more, grab centre space because their problems of pollution, congestion, poverty, shortage of water and degradation of environment are easily documented and highlighted.  However, the problems of tier two and three towns, of peri-urban areas, and of villages transiting into town Panchayats, are equally intractable.

Policymakers have been grappling with the issues of rampant urbanisation and there are several broad strategies that are discussed. While the focus is on beefing up the infrastructure in metropolises, the idea is also to develop smaller towns, so that rural migration into the big cities can be dispersed into the smaller towns. This makes sense because these smaller towns then provide economy of scale, and aggregated services to a rural hinterland.

It is obvious that, in order to achieve objectives of orderly, equitable, and resource-efficient urbanisation, the inter-governmental fiscal system has to be adapted and strengthened to ensure the best expenditure choices. However, here, the chronic problems of India’s public financial architecture come in the way, as usual. Quite apart from the usual litany that urban local governments are poorly funded, there is also the issue of fiscal fragmentation.

Funds spent in urban areas are dissipated amongst a welter of agencies, ranging from local governments to mission bodies, to departments, corporations, and Special Purpose Vehicles. Expenditure responsibilities of these institutions overlap, and there is probably a great deal of duplication of expenditure, which we may discover if we are able to interpret all the accounts of such agencies.

The Accountability Initiative (AI) at the Centre for Policy Research has long held on to the conviction that if the streams of expenditure are tracked by diligent sleuthing – a task that few organisations in India attempt – then one can trigger accountability. People will sit up and ask where their money is going, for what, and who is spending it. It was this theory of change that propelled AI to take up the PAISA studies nearly a decade back.

Focussing on the tracking of expenditure under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, AI tracked the expenditures in a swathe of schools across 10 states, producing PAISA reports that were commended for their focus and insights.

Around five years back, AI took the next step in tracking multiple streams of expenditure right to the grassroots-level, using the Gram Panchayat as the unit of convergence of these expenditures. True, Gram Panchayats do not spend all the money that makes up government expenditure within their jurisdictions – we are a long way from the implementation of that idea. However, the objective of the ‘PAISA for Panchayats’ research study was to answer a simple question: ‘How much money does the government spend through all its institutional layers, including the Gram Panchayat, within the jurisdiction of a Gram Panchayat?’.

The ‘PAISA for Panchayats’ study was conducted in Karnataka, in Mulbagal Taluk of Kolar district. The study revealed that, of overall expenditure that could vary from Rs. 4 to Rs. 6 crore per annum undertaken by all governmental agencies in a Gram Panchayat’s area, only around Rs. 60 to 80 lakhs was spent by the Gram Panchayat directly.

These expenditures included allocations recommended by the Union and State Finance Commissions and released by the Union and state governments respectively. They also included large Centrally Sponsored Scheme programmes such as the Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and the Total Sanitation Programme, and the own revenues collected by the Gram Panchayats.

Futhermore, over 90 per cent of the expenditure incurred by the government within a Gram Panchayat’s jurisdiction were undertaken by state government departments, the Zilla and Taluka Panchayats. They were also undertaken by special mission bodies – parallel structures whose funding and management systems were outside the purview of the Panchayati Raj system.

Presentation of the report’s findings to the Government of Karnataka resulted in some favourable policy decisions – this should be music to the ears of researchers, who bemoan that nobody pays attention to their recommendations. The Government of Karnataka has not paid heed to the suggestion that state government departments ought to undertake an exercise to identify those programmes that should be run by the Panchayats in consonance with the powers and responsibilities devolved to them by law. But the government has amended the law to mandate that all departments should identify Panchayat-wise works that they plan to undertake and the expenditure that they have incurred, and make this information available to the public and the Gram Panchayats.

True, like all such salutary legal provisions, there will be a time lag in implementation. With greater pressure from Panchayat-elected representatives, there is hope that all departments will comply with this mandate.

In the meantime, buoyed with the experience of the ‘PAISA for Panchayats’ study, AI began to ask the same question with respect to urban financing. We asked: ‘How much money do all government departments put together, spend in each ward of a medium-sized municipal corporation?’.

The ‘PAISA for Municipalities’ study was conducted in Tumakuru, a city chosen under the Smart City initiative for urban governance reforms and enhanced infrastructure expenditure. The study has been completed and its report is in the public domain now.

However, any study has two facets to it: the final report, and all the fun and games that happen in the background as intrepid researchers doggedly pursue their prey. This blog series is about the latter. Often, that is a richer story than the bland findings contained in a research report.

Over the next few weeks, I shall relate the twists and turns of public finance sleuthing, seen from the eyes of my colleagues, Swaroop and Tanvi and I, as we unraveled the fiscal story playing out in Tumakuru city.

T.R. Raghunandan is an Advisor at Accountability Initiative. 

 

Also Listen To: Following the Money in Tumakuru Smart City

Policy Buzz

Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news, published every fortnight.

Policy News

  • Under the Jal Jeevan mission, the Jal Shakti Ministry has partnered with the United Nations and the government of Denmark to help bring tap water connections to 11 water-scarce districts in Uttar Pradesh. Download our analyses on Jal Jeevan mission to understand the scheme’s progress. 
  • The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment aims to launch Poshan Abhiyan for the elderly to provide nutrition support. Download our analyses on Poshan Abhiyaan to learn more about the scheme.
  • Uttar Pradesh government approved a proposal for the Affordable Rental Housing and Complexes (ARHC) scheme. Under the scheme, students, urban migrants, and poor labourers will be the beneficiaries.
  • The parliament has passed the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2021. The bill seeks to regulate and standardise the education and practice of allied and healthcare professionals in the country.
  • Punjab government approved the scheme under which women can travel free of cost by government-run buses. The scheme is going to benefit over 1.31 crore women/girls in the state.

Coronavirus-focus News

  • From April 1, 2021, all people above 45 years of age are eligible for vaccination. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16. To learn more about the vaccination drive, read these Inside Districts interviews.
  • According to the health ministry, the second dose of Covishield can be provided at an interval of 4-8 weeks after the first dose, instead of earlier practiced interval of 4-6 weeks.

Understanding Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation, and its Limitations

Why are many countries unable to accelerate their growth and development? This longstanding question, pivotal to the field of economics, continues to defy consensus. A recent diagnosis – offered by Matt Andrews, Lant Pritchett and Michael Woolcock at Harvard University – says that developing countries have limited capacity for implementing policies effectively. Their solution is to create better procedures for policy development and execution through an approach called Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) [1] [2]. What is PDIA and how feasible is it in India?

The starting point of their thesis is that developing countries, such as India, face “capability traps”, characterised by an insufficient capacity for identifying causes for poor performance and enacting corrective measures. Countries face limitations in recognising the ‘what’ (what is the ‘ailment’?) as well as the ‘how’ (how to ‘treat’ it effectively?) of achieving socioeconomic welfare.

Consequently, policymakers often opt for the next-best solution – a ‘leap of faith’ in the adoption of best practices that have worked in other contexts (which they call “isomorphic mimicry”). However, this approach precludes the unique circumstances of developing countries, their challenges, and hence does not reap benefits, they say.

As per Andrews et al., the answer lies in improving the state’s own capacity for devising and implementing “locally relevant solutions to locally perceived problems”. They propose to achieve this through PDIA. The ingredients of the PDIA process (see Figure 1 below) are: 

  • Detect Problems Locally: Moving away from the application of a predetermined set of ‘best practices’ to the identification of local problems and possible solutions.
  • Encourage Experimentation: Fostering an administrative environment that allows for testing locally-developed solutions and finding positive deviances.
  • Feedback and Adaptation: Gathering evidence on the efficacy of potential solutions through experimentation, and adapting these in an iterative manner.
  • Garner Support of Change Agents: Engaging a wide range of actors to ensure reforms can be practically implemented, and have political support.

In this manner, PDIA allows for key issues and resolutions to be recognised by local agents themselves, thereby augmenting their capacity for development.

 

Figure 1: Schematic Outline of Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA)Source: Figure based on Andrews, M. et al. (2015)

 

While this sounds promising, how feasible is PDIA in India? Policymaking in India has a centralised structure. Social sector schemes are determined by the Union and state governments, keeping in mind socioeconomic requirements and political motivations. In light of this, there are three potential roadblocks to PDIA in India: (i) the top-down structure of policymaking; (ii) ending up with asymmetric policy and implementation plans; and (iii) disincentives of failed experiments [3]. 

The above are not intended as criticisms of PDIA’s efficacy, but rather contextual limitations on how well it could be applied in a policymaking context, such as that in India. Let us explore these in turn.

First, PDIA is centred on ideas emerging from local change agents. In India, however, policy formulation is typically carried out by senior bureaucrats in the administrative setup. To put PDIA into action, decision-making authority would need to be transferred to local officials and frontline workers. In the current scheme of things, this may be met with scepticism on the ability of these functionaries to formulate and implement solutions – precisely what PDIA seeks to develop.

Second, the impediments to welfare outcomes are likely to differ across contexts. As per the PDIA approach, this would require mechanisms that solve local problems, leading to policies that differ across areas. Even though exceptions – such as the Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) – exist, policymaking in India largely follows a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Programme guidelines are largely created in a centralised manner, to be implemented more or less uniformly precluding contextual variations to a large extent – for instance, the manner in which Centrally Sponsored Schemes are designed and operationalised [4].

PDIA, on the other hand, would call for policy decisions to be taken at a more diffused level, with guidelines and budgetary requirements tailored to context.

Lastly, PDIA calls for iteratively arriving at policy responses by testing potential answers and learning from mistakes. Andrews et al. remark that we need to move towards “systems that tolerate (even encourage) failure as the necessary price of success”. It is self-evident that career progression of policymakers and administrators are connected with how well they perform their duties. This implies that there are disincentives with unsuccessful policy decisions at present; undoing this would require a monumental shift in the mechanisms of performance appraisal for the bureaucracy.

PDIA can only operate in an ecosystem that is more tolerant of experimentation and failure, one where policymakers are not discouraged from taking potential missteps, and disincentives from doing so are minimised.

PDIA has emerged as a new way of tackling persistent issues or ‘wicked problems’ which are seemingly complex and unsolvable (watch this video on government perception of citizen participation to understand more). Governments across countries looking to test it out (such as its application in the public financial management sector in Mozambique).

As highlighted in this blog, the success of PDIA in a country such as India will be constrained by the nature of the policymaking environment. Structural changes in how policymaking is carried out would be needed – with increased participation of officials and functionaries down the rung in policy decisions, recognition of local contexts, and changes to incentives associated with trial-and-error. 

 

Also Read: Fireside Chat with Anurag Behar of Azim Premji Foundation and Yamini Aiyar of Centre for Policy Research

 

Notes:

[1] Andrews, M., Pritchett, L. & Woolcock, M. (2012). “Escaping Capability Traps through Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA)”. HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP12-036, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Retrieved from URL: <https://www.cgdev.org/publication/escaping-capability-traps-through-problem-driven-iterative-adaptation-pdia-working-paper>

[2] Andrews, M. et al. (2015). “Building capability by delivering results: Putting Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) principles into practice”. In Whaites, A. et al. (2015). “A Governance Practitioner’s Notebook: Alternative Ideas and Approaches”. OECD, Paris. Retrieved from URL: <https://www.oecd.org/dac/accountable-effective-institutions/Governance%20Notebook.pdf>

[3] Another key constraint to PDIA is underestimating the gestation period for policy experiments to show results. However, this applies irrespective of the policymaking structure of a state and has not been discussed further in the current blog.

[4] Kapur A., Irava, V., Pandey S., and Ranjan, U. (2020). “Study of State Finances 2020-21”. Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research. Retrieved from URL: <http://accountabilityindia.in/publication/study-of-state-finances> 

 

Udit is a Senior Research Associate at the Accountability Initiative. 

पॉलिसी बझ

कल्याणकारी धोरणात जे घडत आहे त्या प्रत्येक पंधरवड्यात प्रकाशित झालेल्या बातम्यांच्या निवडीसह अद्ययावत रहा.

 

धोरणा संबंधित बातम्या

  • मेडिकल टर्मिनेशन ऑफ प्रेग्नन्सी (दुरुस्ती) विधेयक,2020 गर्भपात करण्याची उच्च मर्यादा 20 ते 24 आठवड्यांपर्यंत वाढवून संसदेमध्ये “महिलांच्या विशेष श्रेणी” साठी विधेयक मंजूर करण्यात आले आहे.
  • महिला आणि बालविकास मंत्रालयाने त्यांच्या सर्व प्रमुख कार्यक्रमांच्या प्रभावी अंमलबजावणीसाठी – मिशन पोशन 2.0, मिशन वात्सल्य आणि मिशन शक्ती या तीन प्रभावी योजनांतर्गत वर्गीकरण केले आहे.
  • झारखंड सरकारने एका रोजगाराच्या धोरणाला मंजुरी दिली आहे ज्यात खाजगी क्षेत्राच्या 75% नोकऱ्या दरमहा 30,000 रुपये पगारापर्यंतच्या स्थानिक लोकांसाठी राखीव ठेवणे आवश्यक आहे.
  • दिल्ली सरकार पुढच्या आर्थिक वर्षात महिलांसाठी विशेष मोहल्ला दवाखाने सुरू करण्याचा विचार करीत आहे. ही दवाखाने त्यांच्या घरापासून चालत जाण्याचा अंतरावर असतील जिथे महिलांना स्त्रीरोगविषयक सेवा देतील.

इतर

  • अटल इनोव्हेशन मिशन, नीती आयोग आणि अ‍ॅमेझॉन वेब सर्व्हिसेस भारतात शिक्षण तंत्रज्ञानाची समाधाना बनविणार्‍या कंपन्यांना बळकटी आणि आकार देण्यासाठी नवीन उपक्रमांची घोषणा करणार आहेत.
  • सांख्यिकी व कार्यक्रम अंमलबजावणी मंत्रालयाने जाहीर केलेल्या आकडेवारीनुसार, एप्रिल ते जून 2020 मध्ये शहरी भागातील बेरोजगारी 20.9 % पर्यंत वाढली असून ती जानेवारी ते मार्च 2020 मधे 9.1% होती.

 

हा लेख पॉलिसी बझच्या इंग्रजी आवृत्तीवर आधारित आहे जो 21 मार्च 2021 रोजी प्रकाशित झाला.

पॉलिसी बज़्ज़

विभिन्न कल्याणकारी योजनाओं में क्या घटित हो रहा है, इसको लेकर आपको हर 15 दिन के अंदर यह पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ अपडेट करता है |

 

नीतियों से सबंधित खबरें

  • मेडिकल टर्मिनेशन ऑफ प्रेगनेंसी (संशोधन) बिल, 2020 संसद में पास किया गया जिसमे “विशेष श्रेणियों की महिलाओं” के लिए गर्भपात की ऊपरी सीमा को 20 से 24 सप्ताह तक बढ़ाने की मंज़ूरी मिल गई है |
  • महिला और बाल विकास मंत्रालय ने अपने सभी प्रमुख कार्यक्रमों को तीन योजनाओं – मिशन पोषण 2.0, मिशन वात्सल्य, और मिशन शक्ति – के तहत उनके प्रभावी कार्यान्वयन के लिए वर्गीकृत किया है |
  • झारखंड सरकार ने एक रोज़गार नीति को मंजूरी दी है, जिसमें स्थानीय लोगों के लिए निजी क्षेत्र में प्रति माह 30,000 रुपये तक वेतन वाली 75 प्रतिशत नौकरियों को आरक्षित किया गया है |
  • दिल्ली सरकार अगले वित्तीय वर्ष से महिलाओं के लिए विशेष मोहल्ला क्लीनिक स्थापित करने की योजना बना रही है |

अन्य

  • अटल इनोवेशन मिशन, नीति आयोग, और ऐमज़ॉन वेब सर्विसेज़ भारत में शिक्षा प्रौद्योगिकी समाधान बनाने वाली कंपनियों को मज़बूत करने और उन्हें बढ़ाने के लिए नई पहल की घोषणा करने वाले हैं |
  • सांख्यिकी और कार्यक्रम कार्यान्वयन मंत्रालय द्वारा जारी आंकड़ों के अनुसार, शहरी क्षेत्रों में बेरोज़गारी जनवरी-मार्च 2020 में 9.1 प्रतिशत से बढ़कर अप्रैल-जून 2020 में 20.9 प्रतिशत हो गई |

 

यह लेख पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ के अंग्रेजी संस्करण पर आधारित है जो 21 मार्च 2021 को प्रकाशित हुआ था |

How Nutrition Frontline Workers Went Above and Beyond During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Over the last year, Frontline Workers (FLWs) such as Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) have found themselves at the forefront of combating the pandemic. This is not surprising, as these three FLW roles have been the backbone of public healthcare and nutrition delivery in rural India even prior to the pandemic. But, even as their responsibilities have expanded during the pandemic, the nature of their challenges have simultaneously evolved. 

To understand the changing role of FLWs, we started documenting worker perspectives as part of the Inside Districts series in 2020. The insights from the interviews gave us a broad understanding of the prevailing situation. To dive deeper, we also conducted a quantitative and qualitative study with FLWs in two districts each of Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan from November 2020-January 2021 (download the report for complete methodology) with the aim of unpacking the following: 

  1. The evolving role of nutrition and health FLWs during the COVID-19 pandemic, including perspectives on their barriers and facilitators of performance. 
  2. Insights on processes and best practices related to training, implementation, and supportive supervision, which can inform policymakers and functionaries in the short to medium term.

In this first part of a blog series, we will focus on some of the study’s findings. These relate to the duties performed by FLWs during and after the nationwide lockdown announced in March 2020, and the workload difficulties they faced. 

 

Evolving roles and responsibilities

With the onset of COVID-19, FLWs’ revised responsibilities included screening for COVID-19, contact tracing, communication of preventative measures to local communities, adapting nutrition-related programmes, and doorstep delivery of maternal and child health services. (A snapshot of their regular responsibilities is available below.)

 

Figure 1:

 

 

Majority of key services were provided, albeit at a lower scale

A directive was issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in April 2020 to ensure the continued delivery of essential health services during the lockdown – including reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health. Key services indeed continued in some form during the lockdown across both states, as per the FLWs we surveyed. 

These services included antenatal care (ANC), growth measurement, counselling of pregnant women and lactating mothers, and immunisation. FLWs largely performed only pandemic-related tasks until May.

However, the scale of most services reduced during the lockdown months (March to June 2020), with similar trends being reported by all three FLW roles. For instance, 50 per cent of FLWs in Rajasthan and 44 per cent in Himachal Pradesh reported that the distribution of supplements (such as ORS, Zinc, and Iron-Folic Acid tablets or syrups) took place at a lower frequency or scale as compared to the period before the pandemic. 

 

Download infographic on the reduction in the scale & frequency of services provided. 

 

Other services witnessed a slowdown as well. These were ANC, immunisation, distribution of family planning items, growth measurement, referrals for malnourished children, and pre-school activities for children. 

Graph 1:

 

These results were corroborated by country-wide trends from the Health Management Information System (HMIS), which indicated that there was a reduction in the coverage of various services across India during the lockdown. For example, the number of fully immunised children (9-11 months) stood at 46.6 lakh between April and June in 2020-21, approximately 11 lakh fewer than the number reported for the same period in 2019-20. 

 

Workload increased as regular services opened up

The study found that in December, most pandemic-related activities continued along with the recommencement of regular service delivery to operate at pre-pandemic scale, implying an increased workload for the FLWs. Even prior to the pandemic, FLWs reported feeling overburdened. We found that work increased by an additional three hours every day for 83 per cent of FLWs. 

A large part of the increase in workload could be attributed to the return of migrant workers to their hometowns. Ninety per cent of FLWs surveyed reported a rise in the number of people in their work area, and on average, each FLW had to manage 277 more people than before. Moreover, around 15 per cent of the FLWs reported having to serve more villages, which also meant travelling longer distances for work. This challenge was especially acute in Himachal Pradesh, where the terrain is mountainous, modes of public transportation difficult to come by, and road access to remote areas poor.

Importantly, FLWs also reported difficulties in providing other services due to their continuing COVID-19 related tasks. The situation was particularly difficult for AWWs, who faced a higher increase in the number of people served compared to ANMs and ASHAs. 

Table 1:

Motivation levels were not uniform

The increase in workload for the FLWs compromised their means to perform well due to the longer working hours, and some reported lowered motivation due to the lack of a work-life balance. Others continued working through the pandemic, feeling a strong sense of duty towards the communities they served.

 

The day never ends…I have had to go to houses at 7 pm because my supervisor told me to check for symptoms. My supervisor has a daily quota of 10 houses for survey. This is challenging, because I can only do surveys after 1 pm, before which I have to be at the Anganwadi Centre and do tasks like taking weights of pregnant women, teaching children, and immunising.

– AWW, Jaipur district, Rajasthan

 

But, even when facing these challenges (refer to Table 1), most FLWs did not reach out to anyone for resolution, which was likely due to the urgency of the pandemic and work pressures and the lack of regular grievance mechanisms. Of those that did reach out to their supervisors, only 10 per cent of FLWs were able to resolve their issue completely. For most, either there were partial solutions or no resolution at all. 

The study’s findings indicate that the nature of FLWs’ workload expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic – they were overworked, but soldiered on. FLWs had to be trained on new tasks and were also reoriented on conducting regular activities in the context of a pandemic. Fulfilling new responsibilities also necessitated the distribution of protective gear and an increase in remuneration by the government. 

In our next blog, we will discuss the extent to which FLWs were able to adjust to the new norms, and the quality of support they received from the government. 

This study was conducted through a research grant provided by Azim Premji University, as a part of their COVID-19 Research Funding Programme 2020.

 

Also Watch:

State Budgets One-Stop Resource 2021

We’ve made it easier for you to access state budgets by compiling the budget documents below. Click on any of the states to see more:

This blog will be updated with budget documents from more states in due course. 

Policy Buzz

Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news, published every fortnight.

Policy News

  • The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which increases the upper limit for abortions from 20 to 24 weeks for “special categories of women” has been passed in the parliament.
  • The Women and Child Development Ministry has classified all its major programmes under three umbrella schemes – Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Vatsalya, and Mission Shakti for their effective implementation.
  • The Jharkhand government has approved an employment policy that requires 75% of private sector jobs up to a salary of Rs 30,000 per month to be reserved for local people.
  • The Delhi government is planning to set up special mohalla clinics for women in the next financial year. These clinics will offer free gynaecological services to women within walking distance from their homes.

Others

  • Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, and Amazon Web Services are set to announce new initiatives to strengthen and upskill companies building education technology solutions in India.
  • According to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, unemployment in urban areas rose to 20.9% in April-June 2020 from 9.1% in January-March 2020.

‘There is Comfort in Knowing that I am Financially Independent’

This interview was conducted as a part of a research study funded by the Azim Premji University under the COVID-19 Research Funding Programme 2020. The study delves into the experiences of frontline workers in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was conducted with an ASHA in Udaipur, Rajasthan on 13 January 2021 in Hindi, and has been translated.

 

Q: During the past nine months, you have been involved with COVID-related work. Can you give a brief overview of what your COVID-19 pandemic and non-pandemic duties were?

ASHA: In terms of my pandemic-related tasks, the first and the most important one was to keep doing surveys. Whenever someone would enter the village, we would have to go to their place and get information on how many people they arrived with, what vehicle they arrived in, note down the vehicle number, and then ask them if they have any symptoms of cough and cold or if they had already been tested for the virus. This task kept us occupied through March-May.

In May, we resumed our other tasks like weighing pregnant women, assisting with deliveries and conducting immunisations. It’s not like we didn’t do these tasks in the previous months, but we highly discouraged people from coming to the Primary Health Centre for these. Instead, we asked them to inform us beforehand if they required any of our non-COVID related services, and then we would go to their homes and help them with anything that they needed.

I am in-charge of my own village, and have a population of 900 under me, so it has not been that difficult to fulfill these tasks.

Q: What was your relationship with other Frontline Workers (ANMs, AWWs and ASHAs)/other Corona Warriors in your area post the pandemic? For instance, how often do you speak with each other, and what coordination have you been doing?

ASHA: My coordination was primarily with the ANMs. In fact, there is an ANM that I do all my pandemic and non-pandemic related work with. We even do our surveys together! This helps both of us as not only we have company while doing the work, but we also get emotional support.

Whenever there is any problem, instead of going to my supervisor, I would just ask my ANM didi because I feel much closer to her.

My supervisor though has been very supportive throughout.

Q: What has motivated you to come to work and carry out your activities during the pandemic?

ASHA: I have been in this job for over six years now, so it is more like second nature to me. I have always wanted to work in the field of health, it is like a dream come true for me! There is also some comfort in knowing that I am financially independent. I don’t make a lot of money from this job, but it’s good enough to make me feel that I don’t have to entirely depend on my husband for everything, so that has kept me motivated.

During the pandemic period, the biggest motivation is that I get the opportunity to give back to the society. I get to work for my own people and help them, and this has kept me motivated despite backlash from these people for doing my work.

Q: Have there been challenges to carrying out your work?

ASHA: My area is really large so, a lot of the times, I have to walk 3-4 kms every day, and that has been a big problem. It is very difficult to get transport because no one is ready to help Frontline Workers (FLWs). They all think that, because we are in the field all day, we are infected with COVID-19, and will also make them sick! We have tried everything, we even tell them that instead of giving Rs. 200 for a ride, we will give them Rs. 500, but even then they do not agree.

I have not got any reimbursements for all the extra money I have spent on travelling, and doing door-to-door surveys. I spend Rs. 50-70 everyday. I got my salary on time.

The people of this village are not ready to listen or cooperate. They do not like it when we go to their homes to do surveys. Most of the times they lash out at us saying that we should not come unannounced.

I remember, this one time, a patient was diabetic and had COVID-19 symptoms, but lied to us. Later, when she tested positive, she revealed that she had been showing symptoms for a while. Because of this the entire family got COVID-19!

There is a lot of stigma around this virus which prevents people from getting tested. Some of the people also told us that they will file police cases against us if we keep coming to their homes for surveys. I was doing surveys with my ANM didi and one of the households let the dogs out on us, and she got hurt. The people did this because they didn’t want to get tested for COVID, and were really frustrated with FLWs coming to their homes again and again for the same thing.

The timing of this job is also a big problem — I feel like I am always doing pandemic-related work. I have two small children at home but I don’t get the time to help them. I leave home at 6 AM and come back by 7 PM.

Q. How did you overcome challenges that you faced?

ASHA: The first thing that I always do is to talk to people. I try my best to impart knowledge about the facts that can help them be less scared of the disease, and be more open about the symptoms that they are facing. I also tell them that we don’t go around telling everyone about the people who have COVID-19. I tell them that there is utmost confidentiality so they shouldn’t feel ashamed.

To manage the problem of transport I usually ask my husband to help. Moreover, whenever a seat is denied to me in public transport, I show them my FLW ID card and tell them I will complain to the police.

Lastly, to cope with the burden of the job, I have learnt how to manage my time better. Earlier, it was very tough to give so many hours to this job but now I wake up early, do my household tasks beforehand, and by the time it’s 6 AM, I am ready for any work that my supervisor may allot me.

 

More experiences can be found on the dedicated Inside Districts platform.