https://reliefweb.int/report/world/women-s-unpaid-and-underpaid-work-times-covid-19 As Covid-19 grips the world, market economy have shuttered, schools have closed, and nearly half of the global population is confined to their homes. Yet millions of care workers step out every day to keep the lights on and support those in need, for very low wages. Majority of these care workers are women – nurses, community health workers, nursing home staff, sanitation workers, laundry workers, and others – whose work has been serially undervalued and underpaid.
However another army of unpaid workers, which has been been highlighted at the time of the pandemic, is home care persons, most of them women. When the second wave hit India, and the hospitals were jammed and de-oxygenated, the system had to rely on these home care workers to keep mild patients from crowding hospitals. The medical system has long ignored the contribution of home care persons mainly women.. moms, wives, sister et al. It is time that this work is recognised and supported. By way of general education, and perhaps an insurance scheme which compensates them when they have to stay at home for medical emergencies and loose their pay in office. Perhaps even a locality based "civil defense" type of system.
Even in normal times, the hospital needs one person to stay at the side of the patient, because the system put a strain on the nurses and the equipment if they have to monitor all patients.
There is one group of organisations which have demonstrated a workable system. They are the so called disability sector. Their Programme "Commmunity Based Rehabilitation" pays particular attention to the needs of care givers at home. In fact this month the WHA is supposed to meet on the Health for All resolution, where for the first time the disability section does not have a mention of the Communiity Based Rehabilitation. http://emeets.lnwr.in/index.php/community-based-services
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