Dehradun based environmental action and advocacy group, SDC Foundation has designed a handbook for city leaders to combat the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the entire globe. The handbook is published in Hindi and serves as a broad framework for stakeholders of any city or town in India to address the social and public health challenges created by COVID crisis.
About the handbook
Handbook deals in-depth with Coronavirus and how it can be systemically tackled at a city or a ward level with the help of building local partnerships with a range of stakeholders like citizens, municipal authorities, civil society organizations, political leaders, district administration, state officials and others.
Handbook suggests a list of actionable items that can be taken at a community level to ensure that infection does not spread and a precautionary protocol could be established for keeping citizens healthy, infection-free and safe.
Handbook deals with the history of the Coronavirus, how to protect against it, common symptoms and a list of precautionary measures. The handbook is published in the Hindi language. Since the information related to COVID-19 is not static and is changing every second, any errors will not be attributable to the handbook or the Foundation in any way.
Who are city leaders? Meaning and scope
Any individual or institution socially active at a community level can be considered as a city leader for the purposes of the handbook. Any citizen, civil society organization, municipal councilor, MLA, state official, bureaucrat, municipal commissioner etc. can be considered as a city leader. Since the infection is more concentrated in the urban pockets of India, the handbook focusses on cities and their stakeholders.
What does the handbook suggest?
After reviewing the existing literature and several advisories issued at international level by World Health Organization (WHO), at national level by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and district level by the administration; handbook suggests a set of actionable measures that can be adopted at a city or ward or colony level. The list is not exhaustive and is open to additions keeping in mind the principles of social distancing and public health safety. Some of the suggestions enshrined under the handbook are carrying out regular sanitization of streets and public places in the ward, creating a list of people whom you are meeting on a daily basis, creating a panel of community doctors for tele-consultancy and much more.
How to use?
The handbook can simply downloaded by the link given below. The handbook can be shared as a PDF document in WhatsApp and email. An online link for downloading the handbook can also be circulated on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms. The book can be used in any part of the country. It is not specific or limited to any particular state/city/town.
Download the handbook here.
Team
“Handbook is designed in a very simple and non-complex manner. It can be used by any stakeholder concerned with the handling of the crisis in any city or town across India. It shares some very innovative and significant measures that can limit the spread of infection amongst the communities and help build a robust response to the global pandemic.” – Anoop Nautiyal, Founder Chairperson, SDC Foundation.
“Handbook serves as a template for various stakeholders in a city or town to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The global pandemic has called out to adopt a differential approach and build a more localized response. It will aid the decision-making system of the city and help in mobilizing the local communities to adopt practices based on social distancing.” – Rishabh Shrivastava, Lead – Public Policy and Communications, SDC Foundation
The handbook has been prepared by the members at SDC. Anoop Nautiyal, Rishabh Shrivastava, Vidush Pandey and Radhika Sinha have developed the handbook together.
For any queries or suggestions regarding the handbook, please write to us at contactsdcuk@gmail.com
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