Speaking recently in the high-level discussion held by Niti Aayog on the Omnicron driven surge in Covid cases, ICNW president Dr Nandini Azad underscored the importance of the combined strategy of social protection and financial inclusion for building immunity/recovery from the Wuhan virus.
Dr Azad said a continuous credit access for girls and poor women and employment to them was most essential to deal with Omicron variants for pandemic recovery and immunity.
Speaking further Dr Azad said Indian Cooperative Network for women (WWF-ICNW) members i.e., the “Covid heroines – women micro entrepreneur pandemic warriors” had already taken up unique/specific strategies for Covid-19 variants.
Offering the detailed analysis of the corona situation and its problems, Dr. Azad made multiple suggestions including providing Awareness/counseling on Gender Violence during Covid-19.
Highlighting the WWF/ICNW best practice breakthrough model she stated that its long-term outreach of poor women members and its innovative financial inclusion program have empowered women.
“In the past 43 years, this model has helped integrate women workers from the informal sector into the mainstream. It has reached poor women worker members in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
It has 14 cooperative branches with members engaged in agriculture, dairying, fisheries, food processing, piggery, silk weaving, head loading/hawkers/vendors, lace making, bunk shops, rice cake selling (idly) etc. Comprehensive financial and Social plan of ICNW Cooperatives could be emulated country wide, she asserted.
Incidentally, ICNW was the only cooperative to be invited to this important consultation. The high-level meeting of the Empowered Committee of the Government on the Omicron surge, solutions with Civil Society/Trusts was chaired by the Niti Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant.
Mr Paul, the member in-charge of health made a comprehensive presentation of the Global, National and State level status of Covid variant, Omicron with statistics and solutions. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Tata trusts etc., provided inputs at the virtual consultation.