How Can We Support Sanitation Workers During COVID-19?

Courtesy: WaterAid/ CS Sharada Prasad/ Safai Karmachari Kavalu SamitiBy External SourceNEW DELHI, Apr 10 2020 (IPS) In addition to healthcare professionals, there is another group of people at the frontlines of the global crisis caused by COVID-19. They put their lives at risk every day and play a critical role in preventing the spread of the virus, by ensuring our streets, parks, public spaces, sewers, septic tanks, communities, and public toilets are kept clean and hygienic. They are our often-overlooked sanitation workers. These five million public health and safety workers—who continue to work through the COVID-19 pandemic—are unprotected, stigmatised, unappreciated, and seen as people to be shunned. One of the biggest challenges they face is that they have no information about affected households, nor about those who are at high risk. If they contract the virus, they have very little recourse to health safety nets, insurance, or access to already overflowing public health facilities. This is particularly stark for women sanitation workers, who make up more than 50 percent of urban sanitation workers.   What needs to be done to ensure the health and safety of these essential workers?   Provide protective equipment While we recognise that frontline staff in hospitals and health facilities face a dire shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), the need of the hour is also to find ways to provide sanitation workers with the following necessities: masks (...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Asia-Pacific Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Coronavirus Source Type: news