Improving the lives of rural communities: A direction for 2022

By Zarina Screwvala 

A new year is a good time to reflect on the learnings from the past year and gather insights and learnings to inform our decisions for the new year. Undoubtedly 2021 has in particular taught us many lessons which would be useful for everyone – individuals, communities, countries and the world in the year ahead. 

As we look back at 2021, India can feel happy the way it fought the pandemic compared to 2020. We successfully vaccinated our citizens in remote communities, faced many natural calamities, and ensured relief and rehabilitation to those affected. At the same time, we are at a crucial juncture as we are experiencing the third wave and dealing with the Omicron variant.

Despite the third wave being mild in comparison to the previous two, the districts and hinterland have been hit too. The positivity rate for more than 200 districts is already up by 5%. With the current scenario being dynamic, 5 – 10 % of the active cases still need hospitalization. It is the time when the following learnings of the previous year can help us create a way forward for 2022. 

Continue to build strong rural medical health infrastructure and ecosystem: While the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic shook us all in many ways, rural areas were challenged with limited access to health care facilities, limited supply of essential life-saving medical equipment and trained paramedical care. Perhaps one positive outcome is, this need has been recognized to some extent and many NGOs and Corporates have responded very creditably. For e.g. Seva International, The Hans Foundation, Ekam Foundation, Swades Foundation, supported government health facilities with essential life-saving medical equipment. This support has also equipped medical health facilities to fight any such future challenges. Importantly communities were mobilized and trained in the basics of fighting Covid. Plan India, CRY, Habitat for Humanity and many more non-profits conducted awareness sessions for communities and frontline workers.

With these learnings from the second wave, it is clear that capacity building of rural frontline workers helps in quicker referral and faster testing of community members. In the current circumstances, we need a holistic approach to ensure the support and upkeep of essential life-saving medical infrastructure. It is necessary to monitor the needs of rural health care facilities and health care workers daily. While we invested a lot in health infrastructure post the second wave, the health care workers’ number increased conservatively. 

Use a collaborative approach to ensure vaccination of the remotest communities.  A powerful example demonstrating the power of collaborations and partnerships is the rapid development of vaccines and the rollout of successful vaccination drives. About one-third of all vaccines were developed in partnerships that tended to use contemporary vaccine platforms. Across India, many non-profits like Swasti, Sethu Foundation, Transform Rural India Foundation, RAAH Foundation, Swades Foundation and many more, have supported the government in conducting successful vaccination drives for vulnerable, underprivileged and remotest communities in urban and rural India. However, only 48% of the population is fully vaccinated. We should take into consideration that in African countries the current pandemic peeked because of partial and incomplete vaccinations. Thus, partnerships amongst stakeholders for vaccinations in remote areas can aid the government in containing the spread in remote areas. 

Ensure sustainable and diverse sources of income for rural India: The slowdown of the economy impacted rural communities very harshly. More than 40 million workers, engaged in the informal economy were severely impacted (World Bank Estimates, 2020). While economists suggest that the current wave will not impact the economy like the previous two waves, the predictions for GDP growth have dropped as the contact-based economy will fall prey. Two sources of income are critical in the rural economy to ensure a continuous flow of income. For this sustainable income-earning opportunities within their village have to be strengthened. In such cases when one source of income is impacted, the other can ensure daily sustenance on families that live on margins. After spending more than 30 years in Mumbai, Suresh Sukharam Kasbale lost his job at a cloth mill in Bhiwandi during the lockdown. His younger son, who worked in Pune as a sous chef also lost his job. They both returned to their village Pitsai, Tala in Raigad, Maharashtra. Suresh’s elder son who completed his diploma in IT, supported the family to sustain themselves during the lockdown. This experience helped Suresh understand the importance of multiple sources of income. He decided to stay back and start a business in his village. With support from a non-profit, Suresh started goat rearing and poultry farming. He now earns INR 17,000 monthly from it. He moved on to take up a rural entrepreneurship course. The course inspired him to start an eatery with his younger son. He has also planted 300 fruit-bearing trees. These trees after four years will provide him and his generations with a sustainable income of more than 3 lacs annually.  Suresh’s family today has 5 sources of income and he earns more than what he was earning in Bhivandi. 

Along with this financial literacy for rural communities cannot be ignored. They need to be aware, possess the knowledge and be equipped with skills that can enable them to manage the betterment of their family by taking sound financial decisions. 

The opportunity was created by the acceptance of digital platforms by rural communities.

While the digital boom would have happened in next 5 – 6 years, with the onset of the pandemic everyone accepted digital as the new normal. Rural communities too embraced digital platforms like Zoom, WhatsApp, etc for regular meetings and key training modules. It was surprising to see a group adapting to Zoom, most were women who wanted training and information on strengthening their SHG’s, sustainable business avenues, care during covid, maternal and child health and nutrition. Digital empowerment of communities has helped in the successful rollout of COVID-19 protocols, COVID-19 vaccination, and other program interventions by many non-profits. However, this development is still at a nascent stage. Majorly due to the lack of accessibility of smart devices with women and limited connectivity. In the long run, it is necessary to invest in IT infrastructure at the village level to strengthen connectivity. Digital cannot replace human contact, as we have seen with the education of children which was severely impacted. It can enhance adult training and should be continued and ramped up across the board.

2021 taught us to connect with what’s important in our lives:   It is my hope that 2021 gave us the time to introspect on what really matters to us and pivot our lives in that direction. Many realized they didn’t want to get back to the rat race and embrace a new kind of lifestyle away from large cities. We all realized the importance of spending time in nature, developing interests beyond work. That life does not just work but a whole lot more!

The crisis also brought out the best in us, giving us an opportunity to practice real human values of friendship, compassion, care, and being there for those in need. I wish us all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2022 where we take forward the lessons and help to make this world just a little better.

(The author is the co-founder of the Swades Foundation & works full time as its Managing Trustee & Director. Zarina was a co-founder of the media company UTV, where among other ventures, she created and launched several TV channels including Hungama, Bindass & UTV Movies. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Financial Express Online.)