Tags:
Latest Update:Devastating Surge in India
India has been experiencing a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases since late April 2021 at an unprecedented scale, with daily new confirmed cases reaching a height of over 300,000. To date, there are more than 20 million total confirmed cases and the death toll is over 300,000. According to latest data, India ranks 145 among 190 countries in terms of quality and accessibility of healthcare. This latest crisis is crippling an already over-burdened health care system.
The most vulnerable, including over 70 million people in urban India living in informal settlements, who have to share resources such as sanitation and drinking water facilities, and the 4 million homeless in urban cities, are at an even greater risk of infection due to their living condition and lack of personal protective items. And slowly the virus is also spreading to the rural areas of the country.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, World Vision has been responding on the ground to the critical needs of the communities, focusing on prevention, strengthening health facilities and livelihood support, and has already reached over 4.8 million people.
We are currently scaling up our efforts in supporting the government to reach out to the health care delivery systems and the most vulnerable like daily labourers, migrants and the homeless. We are distributing 1,350 oxygen concentrators and over 950 pulse oximeters to hospitals and health care centres in India, along with 10,000 personal protective equipment and 1,000 hospital beds to support the hospitals’ most pressing needs. We are also continuing our support in basic care, information, education and communication (IEC) materials, food, cash transfers, personal protective emergency kits and hand washing facilities, to reduce the impact of the pandemic on the communities.
The Global COVID-19 Pandemic Continues
Since early 2020, COVID-19 has spread all over the world as a global pandemic and has resulted in devastating consequences for vulnerable girls and boys and their communities. Millions of people have died since the start of the crisis, and now devastating aftershocks are putting at least 85 million more children at risk of violence.
In a recent World Vision study, 81% of children and young people interviewed talked about violence in their homes, communities, and online since the start of the pandemic. Millions of parents and caregivers have lost incomes and jobs due to COVID-19, forcing 8 million children into child labour in Asia alone. There are growing concerns about sharp rises in acute food insecurity in many fragile and humanitarian contexts. Of greatest concern are the 30 million people considered to be facing ‘emergency’ level of food insecurity, only a step away from the catastrophe/famine level of food insecurity. An additional 139 million people are estimated to be in a ‘crisis’ situation (just below the emergency level) with World Food Programme warning these numbers will increase throughout 2021.
World Vision’s continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic is more essential than ever. We will continue to address the immediate and long-term needs of the most vulnerable children and communities, across the rural-urban continuum, in health; water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); food security and livelihoods; education; and child protection. In addition, we will play a key role is supporting the community-driven and community–based demand creation and acceptance for vaccinations.