World Bank Praises COVID-19 Containment In Dharavi; Lauds Community Involvement, Perseverance

When the first COVID-19 patient was detected in Dharavi was detected on April 1, it had created quite some panic in Mumbai and beyond.

Many feared that COVID-19 in Dharavi which is spread over an area of 2.5 square kilometres and has a population of 650,000 could be disastrous.

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The fear was not unfounded as people live in shanties and dilapidated buildings with narrow lanes and open sewers in such proximity had all the elements to turn it into a COVID-19 hotspot, which it did.

But what could have been one of the world's worst COVID-19 outbreaks is now being hailed for the 'Dharavi model'.

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World Bank lauds Dharavi model

The World Bank is the latest to praise the efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Dharavi, saying its success stemmed from a combination of customised solutions , community involvement and perseverance.

The Washington-based global lender, in its biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity report, said that in the space of three months, by July 2020, reported cases in the area had been cut to 20 per cent of their peak in May.

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Observing that effective approaches have tapped the skills and dedication of community members, the World Bank said that in Mumbai, city officials were able to stem the rapid spread of the coronavirus in Dharavi, one of the city's largest urban settlements, by mobilising community members and staff from private medical clinics for a strategy based on mass screening for fever and oxygen levels.

To help poor families during the lockdown, foundations, nongovernmental organisations and volunteers provided thousands of households with ration kits.

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Dharavi's success stemmed from a combination of customised solutions, community involvement and perseverance , it said.

On Tuesday, a Mumbai civic body official said that the COVID-19 tally in Dharavi slum colony rose to 3,280 with the addition of 22 fresh cases.

Of the total 3,280 cases, 2,795 patients have been recovered from the infection, he said, adding that the slum now has 192 active patients.

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In July, the World Health Organisation (WHO) also praised the efforts taken to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in Dharavi, underscoring the need for community engagement along with national unity and global solidarity to turn the pandemic around.