United Way Mumbai's Initiative to 'FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19'

NGO United Way Mumbai steps up to fight COVID-19

With the threat of community transmission of COVID-19 looming over India, NGO United Way Mumbai (UWM) is working to support those at the frontlines of this battle. Over the past week, UWM has been on the ground, assisting public hospitals in Mumbai by providing supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for their doctors and health workers; testing equipment, safety equipment and handwashing and hand sanitizer stations to 12 hospitals; training on COVID-19 safety measures to healthcare and ancillary workers; ration and essentials kits (sufficing for 4-5 persons for a month) to families from marginalised communities and health kits to workers from the solid waste department of the MCGM.

To date, 14 handwashing stations, 4225 N95 masks, 2800 FPP1 masks, 2815 PPE kits, 12,300 pairs of nitrile gloves, 870.9 litres of hand sanitizer, a QIAGEN testing machine have been rushed to 14 hospitals in Mumbai (GT Hospital, Bandra Bhabha Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, Kurla Bhabha Hospital, Rajawadi Hospital, HBT Hospital, IIT Powai - Govt Hospital, KEM Hospital, JJ Hospital, Cooper Hospital, St. George Hospital, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, Police Hospital, Nagpada, LTMG Hospital, Sion), in addition to COVID-19 testing equipment that is being provided to Sassoon Hospital in Pune. With awareness playing a critical role in the prevention of the disease, Information-Education-Communication material is being distributed for display at critical locations around hospitals. These are distributed in close coordination with government health officials. Additional supplies are on their way and will be deployed over the next few weeks.

In addition to distributing protective gear, UWM is also conducting training sessions in hospitals on COVID-19 preparation, infection prevention and control methodology. The training is not only given to health care workers but also the ancillary staff, including security personnel, sanitation workers and other staff responsible for hospital upkeep and patient care who are often the first point of contact for incoming patients.  With the sudden need to divert staff to prepare isolation wards and accommodate the increasing inflow of patients, there has been little time to upgrade staff with the skills and knowledge on COVID-19 protocol and equip them with the knowledge they need to protect themselves.  United Way Mumbai will be conducting more such awareness sessions at hospitals in the coming weeks. 

UWM has also distributed ration and daily essentials kits to 3080 families of marginalized communities, including daily wage earners who have lost their livelihood due to the national lockdowns These kits contain essential daily items for a family of 4-5 persons for one month, including; Rice (10 kg), Wheat Flour (10 kg), Tur Dal (3 kg), Moong Dal (2 kg), Cooking Oil (3 litres), Salt (1 kg), Sugar (3 kg), Tea Powder (0.5 kg) and will mitigate the devastating effect this pandemic has had on the poorest in our country. We have also served 1,14,000 cooked meals to migrant and local daily wage earners across Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi, who have lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic.

Additionally, UWM is also aiming to help community health workers and workers engaged in essential services. While the medical interventions for COVID-19 patients take place in hospitals, the community health workers are undertaking the mammoth task of ‘contact tracing’, which involves identification and screening of individuals who may have come in contact with positive patients or suspects. This intervention helps arrest the community spread of the disease – a key battle in the fight against COVID-19. These rigorous interventions are undertaken in communities and put the frontline community workers at risk of infection. Equipping them with both essential materials and knowledge is an emerging need.

Equally important are workers engaged in the provision of essential commodities and services as such waste management workers, transporters, grocery shop owners, police and traffic personnel, etc. who also need to be equipped adequately. So far UWM has distributed hygiene essentials benefiting over 40,000 workers from the Solid Waste Management Department of the MCGM. Hygiene kits include; bars of soap, liquid disinfectants and floor cleaners and liquid handwash bottles.

United Way Mumbai is also working to expand its reach to hospitals across 6 states within the next month, with the help of corporate and individual donors. Jayanti Shukla, CEO, United Way Mumbai said “Our communities need us now, more than ever. It is our duty to protect the doctors, nurses and hospital staff who are at the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19, and also to safeguard those who are most vulnerable in this time of crisis”

About United Way Mumbai

United Way Mumbai is a part of the 130+ year old United Way movement spanning 41 countries across the world. UWM has played a leading role during major national calamities by proactively responding to the needs of disaster-affected communities by adopting a comprehensive approach for disaster response by emphasizing on immediate relief, mid-term relief and long-term rehabilitation and community rebuilding.  UWM has expertise in community health interventions with largescale programmes addressing community health issues such as sanitation, malnutrition, diabetes, hepatitis and vector-borne diseases.

For more information please visit: https://www.unitedwaymumbai.org/fight-covid