Action Collaborative of Organisations of People with Disabilities and Government on COVID-19

Samarthyam (www.samarthyam.com) is an Organization of People with Disabilities (OPDs) founded in 1991. We have a Special Consultative Status with United Nations ECOSOC, since 2015. The pioneering efforts of Samarthyam are recognized by UN agencies and Government of India, for example promoting rights based advocacy, inclusive, accessible and sustainable environment with focus on independent, safe mobility and gender equality (girls and women with disabilities).

Samarthyam team is working with proactive approach to reach out to grassroots OPDs with the help of central and state governments and UN agencies. As India continue to battle the pandemic, we are amplifying our outreach to people with disabilities to reassure that their survival is a priority by promoting connectivity in rural and remote areas, assuring information in accessible formats and preventing discrimination.

The Covid-19 crisis is new. 

It is requiring us all to act, interact and communicate so that we get social justice and equality of opportunities. 

It is time that we include persons with disabilities as co-creators of Covid-19 responses, as champions, problem solvers and, not as victims. 

What is the scale of the problem?

India is home to nearly 150 million people with some degree of disability. Nearly 25-30 million have severe disability. Most of them live as part of their families and depend on a carer. This adds to another 25-30 million carers. So we are looking at nearly 50 million people who need special support, which was not routinely forthcoming.

What are the unique challenges that people with disability face?

People with disability have special issues in a situation like the spread of the novel corona virus (SARS-CoV-2). People with disability are a diverse group, experiencing different hardships in accessing information on prevention and risk of infection. People with visual impairment and blindness depend upon touch for most of their daily activities. They need to hold the hand of an escort to move around; they cannot read the messages that the rest of the population can see; they cannot practice social distancing unless there are innovative approaches like keeping a safe distance using a white cane. For the hearing impaired, especially those who are not literate, they cannot hear the message or read it. Since many depend on lip-reading, they are compromised when the person giving a message is wearing a mask.

None of the messages in the media is using sign language interpreters. People using wheelchairs cannot reach a wash basin or may not be able to wash their hands vigorously. Children and adolescents with conditions like cerebral palsy or Down’s Syndrome need to be assisted in feeding. People with mental health issues cannot comprehend the messages. At the same time, people with disabilities have a higher risk of conditions such as diabetes and hypertension which are high-risk factors for Covid-19 mortality. 

Therefore people with disabilities need much more support than the rest of the population in the face of a pandemic.

Activities undertaken by Samarthyam for persons with disabilities to mitigate the Covid- 19 outbreak in India

Anjlee Agarwal, Member, NITI Aayog CSO-Standing Committee, co-founder and Executive Director, Samarthyam has created the  ‘Covid-19 Action Collaborative of Disabled People Organisations and Govt.” She is actively working with network of 31 Secretaries of Social Welfare Departments, 25 State Disability Commissioners, government officers and 340 Disabled People Organisations (DPOs) covering 29 states and 7 union territories in India. This network is created by her with support of Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India. These Collaborative support stakeholders to collaborate, coordinate and integrate the Covid-19 response.

1. On 23 March, we started worked with the Dept. of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of India to ensure there are clear guidelines for PwDs. On March 31, 2020 detailed guidelines were issued for PwDs for issuing e-passes for NGOs working for PwDs and their caregivers. Many states have since followed suit and issued detailed orders to the civil administration to issue such passes in areas of their jurisdiction. As a result of this, instructions are also sent to law enforcement authorities in the states/UTs to take immediate steps to issue e- passes to the caregivers/ maids of PwDs, provide food supply, funds (cash) and health kits on request of PwDs.

2.    What finally made a difference was active advocacy by Samarthyam to send a letter through Mrs. Shakuntala D. Gamlin, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in all states to State Disability Commissioners/Secretary, Social Welfare Department on March 31, about the necessity to implement the guidelines for protection and safety of PwDs and issuance of e-pass for the ir care givers (https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1608495). Most states almost immediately implemented the guidelines and issued further directions to their civil administrations. Other states followed three or four days later.

3.    In Delhi, on April 4, the Delhi State Commissioner for PwDs, Mr. Ramesh Negi, issued directions to the e-pass issuing authority and data entry operators in Delhi to consider “Caregiver for PwDs” as an essential service while processing the applications for e-passes and to issue such passes within 24 hours of application. The link is - https://epass.jantasamvad.org/epass/init/. On April 7, the Delhi government notified an e-pass for caregivers in the exempted category list.

4.    In some states, the insistence by officials on photocopies of Aadhaar, identity proofs and disability certificates have posed a problem as these facilities are closed. So, efforts are now being made to have states accept soft copies of these documents for making of e-passes.

5.    Similarly District Magistrates and social welfare officers through govt. orders/ letters in all states are requested to ensure that PwDs have access to essential support services (even for their daily living activities like caregiver support), ration supplies and medical aid at their doorstep.

6.    SHGs run by PwDs are given the work of preparing masks so that they get daily wages and paucity of masks at local level can be mitigated. Good example- SHGs under DPOs from Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and MP have started preparing and providing to State Govt. and their surrounding villages. Approx. 40,000 masks per day are prepared by PwDs and sent for distribution in these 3 states.

7.    Samarthyam is maintaining all government orders/ letters issued by state and central government on web page especially created on Covid-19 and this is promoted in all government and non-government whats app groups and social media. The link to the web page is https://samarthyam.com/coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.html

8.    To reach out to poorest of the poor and marginalized PwDs with severe disability, local DPOs are being trained through mobile on self protection and care to be taken with easy to do things to prevent pandemic break out in rural areas.

9.    Samarthyam team is also working with govt. and service providers to ensure doorstep delivery of food and medicines through network of online- what’s app group in Delhi NCR and will follow up in remote and rural areas of India also.

10.  Photos of awareness spreading and mask making initiatives in semi urban areas and slums through PwDs are as follows:

People with disabilities raising Community Awareness on Social-Distancing and           other measures of prevention of pandemic 

Women  with disabilities preparing masks to meet the paucity of masks

Photos courtesy: Rupa Srivastava

Authors: Anjlee Agarwal & D. Chakravarti

Email: anjleeonly@gmail.com
Tweet/Instagram: access_anjlee

Website: anjleeagarwal.co.in