The Effects of Covid-19 on the Poor
Covid-19 has affected everyone globally, and as of today, 13th Sep 2021 has killed over 46 lakh people worldwide. Even though people from all walks of life have been affected by Covid-19, the lower to the no-income group has suffered the most. The number of families that have gone from the low-income to the no-income group is horrifying.
The central and state governments have run many initiatives to help the poor during this pandemic, but to be honest, even their best efforts have fallen short. The income gap between the rich and the poor has grown higher because of lockdowns and restrictions. People like me and you could continue working at home but think about the rickshaw pullers, vegetable vendors, maids, daily wage labours, and hundreds of other people who lost their livelihood due to this pandemic.
When it comes to the poor, they have to think about taking their sick parent to a hospital or buying food for their children. The pandemic has broken the backs of low-income families. Over 23 Crore families have fallen into poverty.
Even before the pandemic, very few children in these low-income families had a chance to get educated. But now, the struggle to eat and having a roof over their head is more significant than getting educated. Surveys suggest that over 1 lakh people are living on the streets in Delhi at any given time. Even the people who have huts under bridges and other unauthorised areas have no protection as they cannot keep social distancing.
The poor lack access to clean drinker water, medications and nourishing foods; this makes their immune system weak and a prime target for coronavirus. As studies have shown, people with a strong immune system have a better chance of surviving the Covid-19 virus. A simple act of wearing a clean mask can save hundreds of lives, but most low-income families can’t afford to put food in their mouths, let alone masks on them.
A pandemic like Covid-19 has effects that last long after the pandemic is under control.
Today, there are still over 3.5 lakh active cases in India (https://www.covid19india.org/), and only 13% of the total population has been vaccinated fully. The worst part is that many states in India can still get a third way of Covid- 19. This coronavirus has been mutating regularly and is becoming more dangerous with every mutation.
The only way to avoid a third way is to prepare for it; the government has been running vaccinations camps throughout the country to try and get everyone vaccinated. And yes, that is the goal, but until that happens, we need to make sure that we do everything in hour hand to avoid the third way. We need to make sure we wear masks and maintain social distancing to protect ourselves and the poor. We may enjoy working from home, ordering food from Swiggy and Zomato, but the poor will not be able to survive another lockdown.
Apart from the government, many NGOs like Noble Nonprofit work to help feed and care for these people affected by Covid-19. Many campaigns for food, free vaccinations, and PPT kits are being run and funded by these non-profit organisations. At Noble Nonprofit. under our project Nourish India, we regularly run food and grocery distribution campaigns. We have distributed and continue to distribute masks and sanitisers to the homeless.
The poverty trap that this pandemic has created will take years if not decades to come out of, and that is if everyone, the government, private sector, you, and me help. We as a society need to understand that the only way forward is together; we need to help the poor. You can do this by donating money, masks, sanitisers, groceries, paying medical bills or helping their children study. Remember, helping the poor is not charity; it’s our responsibility.