COVID-19 Response :: School4Dev

Humanitarian Response during the pandemic

We realized that the older adults are at greater risk of illness and death during many types of emergencies including the COVID-19 pandemic. We also started witnessing that few specific conditions of elderlies, such as impaired mobility, diminished sensory awareness, multiple chronic illnesses, and social and economic limitations reduced their ability to adapt during situations like ‘Lock-Down’. Within no time, special efforts were initiated by the team. The most promising aspect that came handy during this situation was our already existing process of filling ‘Saving Life Checklist (SLC)’ for each elderly, which gave us complete understanding of their health, especially chronic illnesses.

We were compelled to think beyond the day to day, routine situations in life, to carve out a comprehensive, community-based emergency response plan. This process in our Pune community-based project entailed:

Creating first responders/ peers of elderly through our community workers that reside in Slums.
Training these peers on meeting the unique needs of vulnerable older people
Creating back-up service providers for telehealth (both counselling and consultations)
Creating a system for listing and providing basic supplies: raw ration, hygiene products for standard precaution, medicines, multivitamins, adult-diapers and other life sustaining items
And rigorously implementing the individual care plan (ICP) developed on the basis of the Saving Life Checklist (SLC)

Key Achievements:

Curbing misinformation and rumours surrounding vaccines with a view to curb vaccine hesitancy amongst the elderly & their family (There has been widely circulating false information about the pandemic on social media platforms, such as that vaccine candidates have died after taking COVID-19 vaccine, and that the pandemic is a conspiracy or a bioweapon)
Spreading awareness about the importance of COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour, and
ensuring the alternative of home treatment of COVID-19 positive cases as much as possible to reduce load on stressed public health care system
Essential medicines for post COVID-19 & post vaccination effects wherever applicable for home recovery
Supply of appropriate masks & sanitizers wherever needed
Ensuring vaccination of elderlies through regular registration, escorting for vaccination and providing post-vaccination support
Tele-consultation through virtual OPDs
Creation & capacity building of local community workers to act as members of COVID-19 Discipline Committee at the locality level (ward/ slum) level.

COVID-19 Vaccination

COVID-19 vaccination efforts embarked from March 2021 continued for a duration of one and a half years, till August 2022. A total of 98661 elderlies were vaccinated with 1st, 2nd and precaution dose in Pune, Bhopal, Gwalior and Giridih.

COVID-19 response in Madhya Pradesh:

COVID-19 times brought a major burden on health system for quick responsiveness and preparedness. SCHOOL team worked hand on hand with the National Health Mission in the response activities. SCHOOL focussed on not only on supporting the state level response but contributed potentially to strengthen the community level responsiveness to COVID-19, in all the 66 Urban Local Bodies across the state.

The areas of response included supporting the National Urban Health Mission at state level in day-to-day activities, customization of the capacity building modules for the urban facility and community staff, capacity building of the health care workers across all 66 Urban Local Bodies in state, facility readiness of the fever clinics. As a major initiative SCHOOL team is working to bring together all the NGOs on one platform to galvanize their support in situations like COVID-19 in near future. The other major challenge is reorientation of health workers especially ASHAs workers to deliver their job responsibilities for the routine services, which are hampered in current times. SCHOOL has been invited by ASHA cell to consolidate, compile and customize the guidelines of various program divisions; and support in orienting the ASHA workers on how to work in community to deliver their job responsibilities with ongoing challenges of COVID-19. The State Health Resource centre has also asked SCHOOL to document the best practice or initiatives that were taken by different NGOs across the state.

Intervention Details in Response to COVID-19:

Establishing COVID-19 response training Unit in Madhya Pradesh

The mainstay of the COVID-19 response was capacity building. With gatherings for meetings / trainings prohibited; orienting health workers was a major challenge. Also, the frontline workers were the most important cadre that was involved in community response, but they neither had any orientation nor any experience in this field. SCHOOL was assigned responsibility by the Deputy Director Urban Health to find the way out to orient the health staff and equip them on all the response related knowledge areas.

In response to the demand SCHOOL established a COVID-19 response training unit in Madhya Pradesh. The team took following steps to ensure that front line workers across state are trained and equipped on various aspects of COVID-19 response:

A consultative group was formed under the able guidance of Deputy Director Urban Health. The team constituting consultants from SCHOOL team reviewed all the advisories issued by GOI and directives issues by state government. Based on this a draft of 2 modules were prepared with appropriate customization as per states need. Two rounds of successive discussion on the modules were held to finalize them.
SCHOOL team created a ZOOM platform for trainings and shared the SOPs for conducting these training with NHM for their approval. After rounds of discussion regarding methodology and other safety related issues being addressed the permission was granted to pilot the module.
Notifications / and directives were sent to all Chief Medical and Health Officers, District Program Managers and City Program Managers of 10 big cities by NUHM, MP.
The module was pilot tested with in the SCHOOL team and with the field workers. The feedback on methodology were incorporated for finalizing the modules. A final approval from Urban Health Division was taken on content.
Zoom meeting with all the APMs of 10 big cities was organized for planning and preparations for conducting the trainings. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Director National Urban Health Mission, who explained the importance and gave clear cut message to prioritize the training to all program managers.
SCHOOL team coordinated with City Program Managers and Community Mobilizers for nominations. The list of all participants was prepared city wise and batches were prepared.
Before the training handholding of ASHA workers was done for their registration on ZOOM and proper usage. Continuous follow up mechanism was established to ensure the attendance by creating WhatsApp groups and Telephonic follow up from SCHOOL office.
The training was imparted using the PowerPoint presentations, Video Demonstrations, Question& Answer Sessions.
The resources needed for training included the resources persons, coordinator for training, Zoom Connectivity and Customized modules / PPT.
The quality of training was assured by regular feedback mechanism. The chat option was used to under the learnings of the participants.
It was also ensured that there is regular participation of State Level officials, and consultants from different program divisions.

Partnership in State Level Development Partners Forum

The SCHOOL team continuously participated as an active member of State Level forum of various development partners working across state to support the government.

Facilitation of NGO consultation

NGO consultations is being planned to identify the best practices done across Madhya Pradesh. SCHOOL had tried to organize 4 consultations of the NGOs in different states working for elderly during COVID-19 times. Now the learnings are being focused on Madhya Pradesh in which the best practices done by different NGOs will be documented with support to State Health Resource Centre (Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy)

Supporting State ASHA cell

The state ASHA cell was supported in preparing guidelines for ASHA workers to delivery of various job responsibilities in COVID-19 situation and support in its training. Meeting with Deputy Director ASHA cell was held to discuss review of all the directives from different program divisions and prepare a training curriculum for ASHA workers to deliver their Job responsibilities in COVID-19 times. Also, a plan for training based on these directives / modules is under consideration.

SCHOOL’s support to WHO on COVID-19 response

SCHOOL has been providing technical support to WHO India Country office on various aspects of preparedness and response towards containment of COVID-19.

Core Group on COVID-19:

Under the leadership of Country Representative, WHO India has constituted a core group which includes in-house technical staff of various sub-thematic areas including representatives from Emergency Response Team COVID-19 response. Main task of the core group is to provide technical insights considering emerging scientific evidences in COVID-19 to Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) of Government of India for needful policy and programmatic changes under COVID-19 containment strategy. SCHOOL has been the part of it and concurrent support is being provided on various components viz. technical validation of guidelines, IPC, risk communication and community engagement, surge capacity, surveillance, capacity building etc.