COVID-19 Emergency
Following Covid emergency in Bangladesh, PRO.SA Foundation responded to the request made by FADV and the local partner Dalit for an urgent intervention to help the most vulnerable families from 30 villages of Khulna District. In this remote area, on the border between Bangladesh and India, the vulnerability of men, women and children is extremely high.
After the outbreak of the pandemic, the Government implemented a series of measures to contain it, involving international organisations like UNICEF, OMS Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States, in order to create an Interministerial Commitee to fight Coronavirus. The spread of the virus in Bangladesh could be catastrophic due to the high population density and the great lack of adequate hospital facilities, especially in rural villages. In March, the Government closed schools and universities and put in place other measures but the population from the rural areas must be reached through raising awareness messages and the promotion of suitable behaviours to prevent the diffusion.
In the last years, hindu minorities have been impoverishing even more, especially the dalit. The community of dalit outcasts represents one of the most marginalised groups in social terms. They live in extreme poverty, in the most un healthy areas, subject to floods, where water sources are contaminated by arsenic from the water table.
DALIT organisation, with the help of PRO.SA and FADV, is working in 30 villages of Dumuria, Keshabpur and Tala sub-districts where live 3.600 families from the Dalit caste. About 14.400 people, 5.000 of which are children.
Care packages containing rice, lentils, potatoes, oil, salt, saline solution and hygiene and prevention devices such as masks, disposable gloves, soap and hand sanitizer are delivered to the households. Another short-term intervention will be started in 8 Unions of 3 Upazilas (sub-districts) to distribute 9.000 masks, 7.200 pieces of soap for hand-washing, supplementary medicines and food through door-to-door visits. Moreover, the prevention program includes spreading information through posters, fliers and a dialoguer.
