For many living on the fringes of society, public health care services are often inaccessible. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the most vulnerable populations of our society -- migrant workers, the urban poor and daily wage earners, tribal communities, and agricultural men and women -- are deep and far-reaching.
The 5th webinar in the COVID-19: Ask The Experts series discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations in rural and urban areas. The webinar broadly covered the following topics:
- Unique health challenges posed by the pandemic for urban and rural populations
- Communication and community engagement strategies to mobilize/reach help to the vulnerable communities
- Lessons for urban-planning from COVID-19
- Impact on the health of migrant workers and their entrenched relationship with urban India
Speakers:
Gautam Bhan | Indian Institute for Human Settlements, New Delhi
Part of the School of Human Development at Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Gautam teaches, researches and writes on the politics of urban poverty and inequality, urban and planning theory, housing, and identity and social practice. At IIHS, Gautam has taught under several programs, including the Urban Fellows Programme, the Urban Practitioners Programme and the PWP-UD. He anchors the role of IIHS as a National Resource Centre, with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and is part of IIHS’ work in affordable housing policy and practice. His previous research has focused on displacement and resettlement of the urban poor in Delhi and his new work engages with regimes of urban welfare and social security, including work on urban health. He has been an active part of urban social movements on sexuality as well as housing rights and currently advises and trains governmental agencies at local, state and national levels on housing policy.
Yogeshwar Kalkonde | Society for Education, Action, and Research in Community Health (SEARCH), Gadchiroli
Yogesh is a public health researcher, practitioner, advocate, and a neurologist. He is trained in India and the United States (US) and has worked in basic science, clinical and public health research. Seeking bigger challenges, he left his job in the US to work with tribal and rural communities that have limited access to care. For the last ten years, his research focuses on finding grassroots level solutions for the health problems of rural and tribal people. He is also a practicing physician in a rural hospital of SEARCH. He is a recipient of the Wellcome Trust/DBT intermediate fellowship in public health and the Bruce Shoenberg International Award in Neuroepidemiology by the American Academy of Neurology.
Divya Varma | Centre for Migration and Labour Solutions & Aajeevika Bureau
Divya is a Programme Manager at the Centre for Migration and Labour Solutions’ team. She leads Aajeevika Bureau’s policy and partnerships work, engaging with a range of stakeholders, from industry to government. Previously, Divya worked at The Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) and at Asylum Access. A Fulbright Scholar, Divya holds a degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand.
Watch other webinars in the COVID-19 series here: [ Ссылка ]
Visit our COVID-19 resource hub: [ Ссылка ]
