The COVID-19 pandemic had a particularly devastating impact on India, where the first cases were reported on January 30, 2020, in three towns in Kerala. The first COVID-19 lockdown was announced on March 23 in Kerala, and a nationwide lockdown was put into place on March 25. The first wave of COVID-19 lasted from March to September, with daily case count peaking at around 90,000 in September.

Poorer families specifically were most severely impacted by the pandemic, as many lost their sources of income and lived in crowded areas which facilitated the spread of disease. Those living in poverty were significantly more likely to be plunged into food insecurity, to suffer mental health issues, and were much less likely to have access to healthcare in case of infection. India’s economy was hit hard by a spike in unemployment and a decline in economic growth.

Response of ActionAid Association (AAA)

Since the pandemic broke out in March of 2020, ActionAid Association’s teams have been on the ground, tirelessly reaching out with support to those most in need. Our response has been at multiple levels. As of August 15, 2020, ActionAid Association had provided much-needed relief to 77,12,980 individuals from vulnerable communities across 24 states and one Union Territory. We worked with volunteers, and community-based organizations movements, both directly and with the help of local administration. The people we served include those dependent on the informal economy, Dalits, Muslims, particularly vulnerable tribal groups, denotified and nomadic tribes, people living with HIV and people with disabilities, with a focus on women and children among them. We have directly supported 23,55,346 individuals with relief materials, including dry rations, cooked food, and sanitation supplies, among other forms of relief. We have also facilitated access to government-provided relief services for 53,57,634 individuals.

Our teams also provided ‘Relief in Transit’ to migrant workers returning from cities to their native villages as a result of the pandemic’s onset. We enabled their registration for a safe return home. We established stations on highways and roads across several states to provide migrants with water, food, footwear and first aid during their journey home. In some states, we created and monitored quarantine facilities.

Source: AP News

As India aimed to recover from the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 infections in 2020, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic came as a severe blow. In 2021, India’s official death toll surpassed 200,000, although the actual numbers were suspected to be much higher. The healthcare system was overwhelmed and hospitals were struggling to provide beds, oxygen, and essential medicines to patients. Amidst the crisis, India launched a mass vaccination drive but faced challenges including shortages and other logistical hurdles. Widely-enforced lockdowns harmed the mobility of domestic workers and others in the informal sector, who lost their livelihoods and their savings.

Response of ActionAid Association (AAA)

With 512 staff members across 21 States and 2 Union Territories and more than 48,144 volunteers, ActionAid Association responded to the COVID-19 crisis in 2021 in 225 Districts in 786 Blocks. Our direct interventions impacted the lives of 28,33,192 people across India. Our teams focused on reaching out to the most marginalized groups—which include migrant laborers, daily wage earners, homeless individuals, families from NT/DNT communities, transgender individuals, sex workers, Devadasis, Tamasha artists, domestic workers, the elderly and disabled, and single/widowed women, among others—and providing them with relief kits, medicines and cash to purchase necessities.

Our teams spread awareness of the benefits of vaccination and helped vulnerable communities register to be vaccinated on the COWIN App. We also supported health workers who tested for COVID-19 in communities and sanitized areas. To encourage people to take precautions, ActionAid Association (along with volunteers and local youth and female groups) ran mobile awareness vans. We also helped set up 23 COVID-19 care centers throughout Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Odisha, providing more than 435 health institutions with over 6500 oxygen concentrators. Through these centers, ActionAid Association provided primary care, medicines, testing facilities, counseling services, and food to communities.

We reached out to remote districts in collaboration with public health services and volunteers to improve access to care. Two of these are pediatric care facilities for children, located in Patna, Bihar and in Jharkhand. In total, ActionAid Association has ensured the vaccination of 1,65,757 persons from marginalized communities. We have been able to support the 951 homeless, 4,104 individuals from NT/DNT communities, 15,713 Dalits, 13,008 tribal people, 6,226 Muslims, 2,064 domestic workers, 4,297 construction workers, 2,001 migrants, and 516 transgender people through our efforts.

In addition, ActionAid Association ran 14 Child Support Centres (CSCs) to provide medical supplies, surgical masks, food, and other essentials to vulnerable children. We also supported the pediatric ward in the Patna Hospital with the required supplies to address the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 among children. Our trained volunteers and Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) continuously engage with sponsored and non-sponsored children in our project areas so that they can continue their education and learning.

The 2022 Odisha Floods were a series of flooding-related events that lasted from August 14 to September 7, 2022. Caused by extensive rains beginning in August, flooding wreaked havoc in 12 districts of Odisha. Around one million people were impacted, 1,26,000 hectares of land suitable for farming was damaged, and estimated damages to public property totaled Rs. 126 crore. Low-lying areas in Odisha, including Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Khordha, Puri and Kendrapara, were worst affected. In the long-term, these floods are expected to cause significant soil erosion, unpredictable rainfall patterns, and the improper maintenance of embankments along rivers.

Response of ActionAid Association (AAA)

ActionAid responded in the two worst affected districts of Odisha: Puri and Balasore. We reached out to 2,174 affected families and provided humanitarian support—hygiene kits, water and clothing. 1,309 of these families also received dry ration kits and tarpaulin for temporary shelter. In our response, we prioritised providing aid to vulnerable communities, including Dalits, single and widowed women, children, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and sexual minorities. We also included women as we undertook a need assessment in the affected areas to determine the amount of aid to be provided to individuals and families. While distributing humanitarian support, the affected communities were informed about the price and quantity of the materials through banners containing the details of the relief material, including price and quantity.

Image source: Danik Jagran

During the monsoon season, which typically lasts from June to September, India receives nearly 80% of its annual rainfall. The 2023 monsoon season was particularly erratic and severe, causing devastating floods and one major cyclone. Certain areas received their highest rainfall in decades, and in total, over 2,000 died due to flooding-related incidents and 1,584 other individuals were injured.

Himachal Pradesh was hit the hardest by flooding and its aftereffects; over 330 died, and thousands of roads were blocked or waterlogged. Torrential rains in August triggered landslides and destroyed several homes and roads. Haryana was put under a flood warning for the first time in history, and farmers feared losing upwards of 30% of their yield of rice. In Karnataka, 107 people died as a result of floods. Dozens of states across India were impacted by storms between April and December, 2023.

On June 12, alerts were issued to authorities in Gujarat as Cyclone Biparjoy rapidly approached. Biparjoy made landfall on June 16, where it began to uproot trees, destroy telephone and electricity poles, and damage roads. In total, 94,000 individuals were evacuated in Gujarat, and heavy rainfall soon spread northeast to Rajasthan.

Response of ActionAid Association (AAA):

In 2023, ActionAid Association responded to major emergencies by providing humanitarian support, impacting more than 46,000 people. These emergencies included floods in Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, New Delhi, and Punjab and cyclones in Gujarat and southern India.

In the aftermath of Cyclone Biparjoy in Gujarat, 790 ration kits, 1000 pieces of tarpaulin, and 200 sanitary pads were distributed as emergency support to Dalits, NT/DNTs, Muslims, single women, and PWDs.

Between January and October 2022, heavy rainfall across South Asia severely affected India, exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Severe rain in the state of Gujarat in western India caused severe flooding in at least 7 districts, affecting over 10 million people. At least 61 died between June and December as a result, 58 of whom lost their lives following a landslide on June 30 in Manipur.

Response of ActionAid Association (AAA)

ActionAid Association primarily supported marginalised groups in the aftermath of flooding in Gujarat: these included tribal groups, widowed and single women, Dalits, and Muslims. We supplied a total of 769 families with ration kits, including 150 in Ahmedabad, 239 in Navsari, 150 in Kutch, and 230 in Vadodara. We also provided 500 families with tarpaulin for immediate shelter, 75 of whom lived in Ahmedabad, 150 in Navsari, 75 in Kutch, and 200 in Vadodara. These included 12 people with disabilities and 5 orphans. Ration kits were also provided to 30 transgender individuals who were impacted.

ActionAid Association’s team also reached out to women and oriented all team members on the safeguarding policies of AAA, including the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). Community meetings and orientations were conducted for women on the policy provisions and complaint mechanism in the local language. We displayed all policy provisions at each distribution site.

Credit: The Wire

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the states of Assam and Bihar were the site of devastating floods that began in May as a result of heavy rainfall in Assam. The initial round of flooding in Assam affected at least 30,000 people and destroyed crops in 5 districts. Intermittent flooding continued through October, by which time flooding had directly claimed the lives of 123 people and impacted five million. Over one hundred fifty thousand in Assam were forced into relief camps.

In 2020, 7.54 lakh hectares of farmland was destroyed by flooding in Bihar. The districts of Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, Samastipur, and Saran were most impacted, and millions were displaced or otherwise affected. With villages inundated, crops ruined, and other community infrastructure damaged, individuals in both Assam and Bihar needed urgent support. Our teams in both these states were immediately on the ground, providing humanitarian support.

Response of ActionAid Association (AAA)

In Assam, we distributed relief material to the worst-hit households across the districts of Barpeta, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Golaghat and Morigaon. In total, we provided hygiene kits to 1,558 families and tarpaulin to 272 families to reconstruct collapsed portions of their homes. We also reached out to 960 cattle-owning families with additional food for their livestock. In Barpeta, we constructed several temporary toilets. In Barpeta and Morigaon, we created iron removal handpumps to ensure access to potable drinking water and decontaminated other sources of drinking water. We also ran drives in flood-hit villages and relief camps that were created in the aftermath. Awareness campaigns on COVID-19 precautions and on flood safety were organized for children across all intervention districts.

In Bihar, ActionAid Association distributed dry ration kits and masks to 400 families in Samastipur and 355 families in Muzaffarpur. We also provided dry ration support to 200 vulnerable families each in the districts of East Champaran and Sitamarhi. Additionally, teams with ActionAid Association provided educational sessions in these communities on cleanliness and hygiene to prevent the spread of water-borne infections and COVID-19. Volunteers with our organization are facilitating community members’ access to government welfare schemes in the flood’s aftermath.