Food nutrition, clean air, housing, sanitation and water are prerequisites to robust public health

As the world including India witnesses an unprecedented crisis due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we express our solidarity and gratitude to those on the frontline – the healthcare workforce, sanitation and waste workers, journalists, law enforcement agencies, small vendors, farmers, volunteers and others working round the clock to serve the communities.

We are deeply concerned about the countless daily wage earners- street vendors, cleaners, cooks, porters, drivers, construction workers, domestic workers and others affected in the unorganised sector. Although economic relief packages have been announced by the government, it is our collective responsibility to ensure every citizens’ right to social security. It is equally important for authorities to ensure that the fear and panic surrounding COVID-19 does not manifest into the stigmatization of infected individuals.

While the country struggles through hardships due to the national lockdown, our donors, supporters, volunteers and staff stand together to bolster India’s fight against COVID-19, to the best of our abilities. As one of the initiatives, Greenpeace India will be working to enlist the support of small & marginalised farmers or people practicing sustainable farming to help the daily wage earners who are in need of dry rations or vegetables. We encourage individuals and groups to be part of this initiative in any way possible and to reach out to us [email protected] to join the force.

The dramatic nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced humanity as a collective to change its behaviour in a short span of time like never before in living memory. While it’s discomforting for us, it also reflects upon us the possibilities of a future where community, compassion, and human relationships are valued.

Greenpeace India holds firm to the fact that food nutrition, clean air, housing, sanitation and water are prerequisites to robust public health. Time demands that governments invest in a sustainable future which prioritises public good as a driving force. Last but not the least, the virus does not have a nationality nor does it have an agenda or a political affiliation, it exists to spread. The pandemic curve can only be flattened by community cooperation. The best of humanity is tested in the times of adversity and together we can build a resilient community to deal with such eventualities. Let us join the chorus of togetherness and strengthen our relationship in the fight against COVID-19.

(Binu Jacob is incoming Executive Director at Greenpeace India )