Home ›› 17 Apr 2020 ›› World Biz
Women health workers in India complained about being underpaid and unprotected while being at the front line in the war against coronovirus.
According to the reports of BBC, some 900,000 female community health workers are on the frontline as part of India’s battle against Covid-19.
Alka Nalawade, a community health worker in the western state of Maharashtra,said “The value of our life is just 30 rupees [less than $1], according to the government,” “The government is paying us 1,000 rupees ($13; £10) a month for corona-related work,” she adds. “That is 30 rupees daily for putting our life in danger.”
Ms Nalawade is among the state’s 70,000 Ashas, short for Accredited Social Health Activists. She is a single mother, and has been doing this job for 10 years now in Pawarwadi village, where she lives.
Ashas are selected from local and largely rural communities, and are a crucial element in India’s primary and community health programmes. They go door-to-door educating people about maternal and child health, contraception, immunisation and sanitation, as well as enrolling them in health programmes and monitoring the results.
Their role in the fight against Covid-19 is not that different - they visit the homes they have been assigned, educate families about isolation, and monitor people for symptoms of the virus. But the risk is far greater than anything they have faced before.
For one, they do not have the right gear, including masks or sanitiser. India is facing a severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), and even doctors and nurses are unprotected.
Several Ashas expressed their concerns by saying that that they use cotton masks which they wash daily so they can re-use them - and for sanitizer, they have a bottle of spirit that they mix with water. One of them, Karuna Shinde, says she carries a scarf with her, which she uses to cover her face.
Moreover, they are also not getting paid significantly and their families are also discouraging them to carry on with their works due to the risk factors.
"My husband insists that I shouldn’t go to work. He says other people such as nurses and doctors get paid a proper salary, let them do this work," says Shinde.
She also added that a monthly wage of 1,000 rupees - does not reflect the dangers she and her colleagues face.
She also said that they regularly becomes victim of social stigma. people often stop them from entering their homes and make them stand outside while answering their questions for fear that the Ashas may infect them.
The women also complained about receiving little recognition for their efforts.
(Source:BBC)
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