Collaborative efforts to set up child-friendly Covid care centres

One of the suggestions made by doctors and public health experts to tackle the potential third Covid wave is to ramp up paediatric care facilities for children across the state.

After multiple media reports of children left orphaned by the pandemic, the Women and Child Development Minister Shashikala Jolle on May 18 announced the setting up of Covid care centres in each of the districts, in addition to a rehabilitation plan for children who have lost their parents to Covid-19.

Mohan Raj, the nodal officer appointed to take care of the orphaned children, said two cases of children losing both parents to Covid had been reported in the state so far — from Mandya and Chamarajanagar respectively.

He also said that various other measures, including paediatric units at district hospitals, Covid care centres and quarantine centres would be implemented within a month.

In Bengaluru’s K R Puram, a couple of NGOs, along with city-based private hospitals, have already gone ahead and set up a 75-bed Covid care centre (CCC) for children, with plans to scale up quarantine and care centres at five more locations.

Speaking about the need for Covid care centres, Fr Edward, a director of Dream India Network, one of the organisations implementing the initiative, said that since most hospitals are not meant exclusively for children, they are not happy there.

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At the CCC in K R Puram, which is set up under the supervision of the Child Welfare Committee and Health Department, provisions have been made to stock oxygen concentrators, with doctors and nurses on call to take care of Covid-positive children.

The CCC has also linked up with the Rainbow and Motherhood hospitals to treat any serious cases.

While the CCCs set up by the Dream India Network are geared towards easing the stress on shelter homes and child care institutions in the city, Fr Edward said that “Any child who is affected by Covid and needs quality education and a family atmosphere, will be offered a bed.”

Fit institution

“There is a process under the JJ Act to declare any organisation or any institution a 'fit institution' to provide care for children. These Covid care centres in Bengaluru have been declared a fit institution under that process,” says Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta, the Principal Secretary of the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department and the Nodal officer for Civil society, NGOs and corporate partnerships to tackle Covid.

"The centres have been set up in Bengaluru because of the high number of cases here. We have a network of civil society organisations and NGOs working in partnership with us in Bengaluru and across the state. As and when the need arises, we will be able to quickly take action," Uma added.

In addition to these efforts, Guardians of Dreams, a Bengaluru-based non-profit, has set up a Child Care relief fund to help children’s homes and ensure that vulnerable children and the caretakers receive the support they need to survive. Karnataka has over 900 registered Child Care Institutions, which include orphanages, shelter homes, observation homes etc.

There are about 34 children's homes in Bengaluru that have already been impacted by the pandemic to varying degrees.

“Children’s homes in the city are struggling for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, there are as many as 30 children living under one roof and it is a logistical nightmare to test on time and isolate. Children’s homes have their own doctors that they go to but that hasn’t been very accessible now. Most of them also receive aid in kind every month from donors, which has been stopped now,” said Gloria Benny, one of the co-founders of the organisation.

To help mitigate the crisis, Guardians of Dreams is working to provide these shelter homes with a home care kit with essential first-aid items like oximeters, thermometers and masks apart from helping out homes that are under financial distress.

In addition to this, Uma said two weeks ago, a diverse range of organisations, including child rights activists, philanthropic organisations, representatives of international organisations and government officers had informally come together as a group to address issues related to children affected by Covid.

(You can reach out to [phone] / + 91 9110829548 in case you know of any children in Bengaluru who need medical attention or beds at the quarantine centre. Email: [e-mail])

(You can reach the team at Guardians of Dreams by email ([e-mail]) or at [phone])