Where the whole country is fighting against the devastating second wave of Covid 19, trying to curb the spread, some government officers in Jharkhand have taken a unique steps to tackle the rising cases among the rural population in their districts.
By involving village-level medical practitioners in Jamtara and Khunti, which are highly dominated by rural population, the executive heads of both the districts are trying to fight against the disease by spreading the right kind of information to the villagers. This they are doing by the means of identified but traditional medical practitioners such as Vaidh and Hakim.
The officers behind this initiative are Faiz Ahmed Mumtaz, Deputy Commissioner of Jamtara, and Shashi Ranjan, District Magistrate of Khunti. We at Indian Masterminds spoke with both these officers and got to know about the idea and how this initiative is being used in the two districts.
THE IDEA
In the wake of the second wave of Covid 19 and the restrictions which have been imposed in various states, both the districts saw a huge inflow of migrant workers. This has equally resulted in the rising cases of the disease in the rural hamlets of these areas.
While speaking to Indian Masterminds, Mr. Shashi Ranjan said “Most tribal and rural population in our district rely on the medical practitioners as they are the first person these people approach in case of any medical requirement. However, if these medical practitioners don’t have the right kind of information, the situation can get worse during such times.”
Similar is the situation in Jamtara where this initiative has been taken to spread the right information and protocols to the people who are mostly carried away by rumors or false information.
STEPS TAKEN IN JAMTARA
A survey was conducted in the district where around 419 medical traditional practitioners were identified out of 118 village panchayats. These people who have knowledge of traditional medicines are being trained or oriented by the medical professionals in charge about various aspects of Covid 19.
After getting proper orientation about Covid 19, and how it affects people, these traditional medical practitioners will identify people who are getting any symptoms of the disease. They will further report to the control room where the medical officer in charge (MOIC), incident commanders and doctors will take appropriate action and start testing of the identified people.
Apart from this, most rumors which gain ground in such places revolve around the “side effects’’ of vaccine. The medical professionals are also conveying the right information about the use of vaccine and how it will keep them safe from serious repercussions of the disease. They will also get to know about various things which people can practice as precautions, such as taking steam and vitamins, etc. They will also be provided with modern-day medical equipment like oximeter etc. to check the oxygen level of people in the village.
Mr. Faiz Ahmed Mumtaz said “The best among these traditional medical practitioners will be identified and will be given better training about swab collection and vaccination. In case there is a bigger and more powerful third wave, and we have a strain in the manpower among the medical staff, the best ones, with a prior knowledge about modern medicine, will be deployed on the field. Till then they all have been asked to motivate people to get vaccinated and follow the norms.”
STEPS TAKEN IN KHUNTI
Mr. Ranjan told Indian Masterminds, “A total of 250 traditional medical practitioners have been identified in the first phase of this initiative. The main motive is to orient and train them about the protocols which have been issued by the health department and the government of India. This will help in spreading the right information and people in village who are not aware about the basic protocols will also follow them.”
“Secondly in the rural parts of the district, there is a sense of apprehension among the people when it comes to getting vaccinated. To counter this false information from spreading, these traditional practitioners have been asked to identify people with symptoms and get them tested as soon as possible. Discussions are also held with people regarding the use of vaccination and how it is useful during this time”, he added.
Some action points have been made for these traditional practitioners, such as:
1. Capacity building of traditional medical practitioners about COVID Appropriate behaviour
2. Introduction about available COVID Testing
3. Creating awareness for Clinical guidance for management of Adult Covid-19 Patients( only for mild patients).
4. Creating awareness for “Revised Guidelines for Home Isolation of Mild/Asymptomatic Covid 19 Cases”.
5. Providing COVID preventive Kits & Home isolation drug kits and connecting with block officials for first point of contact.
6. Timely referral of moderate and severe patients and connecting with concerned govt institutions/officials.
7. Capacity building for COVID Screening & Awareness
8. Capacity building for COVID Recommended dietary plan
9. Creating awareness for COVID Vaccination
Apart from this, the traditional practitioners have also been provided with facilities like home isolation drug kits, masks, control room numbers, concerned officials’ contact numbers, sanitizers, face shields, pulse oximeter, and home isolation food charts.
