The current crisis situation due to COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented threat across the country. Almost all the states and UTs in India are affected by it, in varying degrees. The trade and industry, at all levels and all segments of society are also affected. The situation has dealt a serious blow to the livelihood of the poor and marginalised communities too.
TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, with the assistance of state nodal departments and state implementation agencies initiated Pradhan Mantri VanDhan Yojana (PMVDY) where a total of 1205 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) have been sanctioned in 27 states and one union territory involving around 18,075 Van Dhan self-help groups (SHGs). This constitutes over 3.6 lakh tribal gatherers in the scheme.
TRIFED has issued dos and don’ts advisories relating to NTFP to be kept in mind during COVID-19, providing suggestive practices for maintaining personal hygiene, adopting cashless practices, among others. It is also working on setting up of 15,000 ‘Van Dhan Social Distancing Awareness and Livelihood Centres’ from the recently sanctioned Van Dhan SHGs among the 1205 Van Dhan Kendras under Van Dhan Samajik Doori Jagrookta Abhiyaan. One leader from each Van Dhan SHG will be identified for generating awareness among the community about social distancing and steps to be followed. He would be made aware of the symptoms of the disease, information about the nearest medical facility/ practitioner in case of need for contacting or reporting and will disseminate information to the community. The SHG would be provided with protective masks and sanitising products (soaps, disinfectants).
It has collaborated with UNICEF for developing a digital communication strategy for promoting the scheme and utilising the VDVK platform for risk communication and well-being during the pandemic. UNICEF is providing the necessary support to be circulated to the SHG centers in the form of digital multimedia content, webinars for virtual trainings (basic orientation on COVID response, key preventive behaviours), social media campaigns (on social distancing, home quarantine, etc) and Vanya radio.
A webinar with UNICEF training team was held on Thursday. It witnessed national level participation from representatives of state implementing and nodal agencies, members from SHGs, among several others from all over the country. The informational training helped the participants in knowing the key preventive measures to take against COVID-19, and clarified doubts and dispelled the myths related to the pandemic. It also involved interaction from viewers in the form of poll questions, with viewers answering questions based on the information provided in the discussion. The webinar saw over 2,380 users, and amassed over 26,000 views while being live-streamed on Facebook. Further informational trainings are scheduled to be held in the forthcoming weeks in order to reach ever more districts and tribal families across the country.