India has been under lockdown since March 24, 2020, to break the spread of COVID-19 infection. ActionAid Association has been rigorously responding to the crisis, reaching out to the most vulnerable communities, focusing on the households dependent on the informal economy. Our teams at the level of states, and across more than 100 districts, have been working with the State Governments and local administration to spread awareness among marginalized communities on the need to maintain lockdown and hygiene practices to stop the spread of the disease. Our allies, working with the local administration, also helped counsel the migrant workers returning to their villages, on the need to maintain quarantine, besides helping set up community-based quarantine facilities.

We have also provided immediate supplies of dry ration, cooked food and sanitation material to those most marginalized. As on April 5, 2020, we have directly provided dry rations or cooked food to nearly 1,00,000 families across 18 states. Working with the local administration, we have facilitated the supply of dry rations or cooked food to another 40,000 or more families. Community kitchens have been set up in many locations to provide cooked food to homeless families and individuals who cannot cook their own food. Our teams are working tirelessly to identify families in need across the 24 states and two union territories we are working in, so we can reach out to them with ration and sanitation material that could last them for a month. We request you to please come forward and help us help them. Donate now.

As part of our efforts in this regard, we had also reached out to the COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force, led by the Finance Minister, with our suggestions and have offered all support to the High-Level Committee for Engagement of Private Sector, International Organisations, CSOs/NGOs and other Development Partners constituted by the Government of India, under the Chairmanship of CEO, NITI Aayog. Our suggestions have also been well-received by the State Governments. We will continue to engage with Governments and statutory bodies, including the National Commission for Women, to ensure policies which place marginalized communities and the women and children amongst them at the core of all interventions.