apnalaya

Poornima Nair, Director, Health & Disability, talks about how poor nutrition, added with food insecurity, has been a serious concern in slums, in M East Ward. The article explores why a dedicated urban agriculture policy is necessary for nutrition security.

Communities around the Deonar dumping ground are subjected to a gamut of health risks owing to the hazardous chemicals emitted during decomposition. Instead of closing the facility, the BMC now plans to construct a waste-to-energy plant on it, while the residents remain unaware and are left out of the planning process. Is this an alternative the city’s urban poor get after so many years?

Apnalaya, in its study conducted between March-June 2020 in the ward, found that due to Covid-19, 32 out of 534 expecting women were forced to deliver at home. Out of the 126 deliveries, which took place in a private hospital, one of the babies was born prematurely.

NFHS-5 data shows that 81.5% of urban households have improved sanitation facilities. But, the condition in urban poor areas like Mumbai’s Shivaji Nagar, where 63% are dependent on community toilets, sanitation is still a cause of major concern. Raghunandan Hegde, Director of Impact, Apnalaya, speaks more about it in this Citizen Matters article.