DEC Coronavirus Appeal

The project aims to “Provide immediate humanitarian assistance 2,617 of the most vulnerable and poor, flood-affected population in West Bengal - through the provision of NFIs, Food assistance and Risk Communication. OFFER’s RRSA indicates that immediate support to the affected population is required. Support needed includes food and non-food items affected households. The project will focus on the most vulnerable groups urban poor (including migrant labourers, single women household and elderly people). Secondary assessments shows these as most vulnerable who are heavily impacted by COVID-19 infection. For this response, OFFER seeks to complement the efforts of the government and other humanitarian organisation in West Bengal by reaching approximately 2,571 HHs/11,570 beneficiaries directly and up to 10,000 indirectly through: 1. Food Assistance: There is a need of meeting nutritional requirements as people have reported less consumption of cereals, pulses and vegetables which would have impact on the nutritional status of all especially the most vulnerable including children, women, those of ill health, the elderly and people with disabilities. As discussed in the above section as well, the issue of food insecurity and adequate nutrition has come out as the most critical concern in the assessment. Many reports have pressed the importance that the right amount of nutritious food is very important as it helps in not only creating a health body to fight infections but also helps in expediting recovery. Also, it has explicitly come out in our assessment that in the current situation, vulnerability continues for the marginalised and poor households especially daily wage labourers and women headed households, as they do not have food to eat and will have to face hunger or in the worst cases be at risk of starvation in the coming weeks. Therefore, we plan to provide dry food ration for 1 month for a family of five. The food kit has been designed based on the dietary habits and local context and consists of Rice – 30 kgs, Pulse (Lentils)- 6 kgs, Sugar- 2 kgs, Oil- 3 litres, Salt- 1 kg, Spices- Chilli (200 gms), Turmeric powder (200gms), Tea- 500 gms and Soyabean- 500 gms 2. WASH/ NFI Kits: 2,571 hygiene kits will be procured and distributed, with each kit comprising of: Bath Soap (125gm)- 10 pieces| Washing Soap (250gm)- 05 pieces| Disinfectant- Sodium Hydrochloride/Sanitiser (5 litres) (10%/60%)| Sanitary napkins (Pack of 8 X2) | ORS- 8 sachets | NADCC Tablets 5 Strips of 10 Tabs each | Reusable Cloth Masks (10 pieces). This is in response to the RRSA, which clearly outlined specific requirements and needs of the targeted communities wherein they are unable to procure basic sanitation material. For PWDs and PLW, they will be assisted in transporting the items via community mobilizers as needed. Keeping in mind the COVID-19 situation on the ground, we will only be distributing hygiene kits to the targeted households and not undertaking any hygiene promotion activities due to the imposition of lockdown as well as to ensure safety protection of staff and community at the field level. 3. Risk Communication: Dissemination of accurate information on COVID-appropriate behaviours is the need of the hour to address myths related to the vaccination, virus, testing, etc. This will be done to enable the community members to make informed decisions to protect themselves and their families by adopting and maintaining those behaviours. Awareness generation activities including devising appropriate IEC material and messages that will be disseminated at public points through speakers on autorickshaw (a vehicle will be hired for dissemination). Key messaging will be done on government protocols, RT-PCR testing, Safety Protocols adherence, Home isolation, vaccination, nearest public health systems and helpline. Various tools will be used to disseminate information through announcement of key messages, distribution of pamphlets on key information related to COVID-19. 4. Community Participation: As a part of accountability to affected populations we will make relief committees, however, this will also depend on the level of lockdown and restrictions, if these are particularly strict then this aspect may get compromised as the government might not allow community consultations. Relief Committees will be formed in targeted slums in Kolkata, West Bengal. These committees shall participate in the beneficiary selection through focus group discussions. This Beneficiary Selection list will be verified by OFFER; followed by the collection of beneficiaries’ essential details including name, age, address, gender, vulnerability category, and signature or thumb print. Additionally, the relief committees will undergo an orientation on CRM as well as the distribution process as they will support in ensuring smooth distribution. Further to this, PDM will be done at the completion of the project to ensure right-holders’ feedback is recorded. In the relief committees we will ensure that at least 30% of the members (if we take 10 members per Relief committee per village) will be females. 5. Complaint Response Mechanism: OFFER has a complaint mechanism in place in line with the IRW Complaint Policy. OFFER has a dedicated mobile number (managed by the OFFER’s Complaint Focal Point) and IRW’s common complaints email id will be used for addressing complaints and collecting feedback, which will be widely disseminated through community meetings. It will also be printed on the beneficiary cards for easy referral. Other mechanisms include the installation of complaint boxes and a complaint register at distribution sites. All project implementing staff are trained on taking and managing complaints, with all complaints documented and follow up actions recorded in the complaint’s register. Lastly, through the Post Distribution Monitoring, OFFER will be collecting feedback/ complaints from the communities on the overall processes to inform future response. 6. Post distribution monitoring (PDM): Depending on the situation on the ground PDM will be done through Kobo Collect either telephonically or door to door survey. The PDM will be used with questions on the following topics: Relief distribution processes, relief material quality, water quality, distribution timing and place as well as the complaint mechanism. In the survey, at least 10% of the total right holders (out of 2,617 HHs households) will be surveyed.