World Bank praises efforts to control COVID-19 spread in Mumbai’s Dharavi

After the World Health Organisation (WHO) appreciation, the World Bank on Wednesday, lauded the Dharavi- Model, that helps contain the spread of coronavirus in Mumbai’s Dharavi, one of the world’s largest slums.

World Bank said that success of the model stemmed from a combination of “customised solutions”, community involvement and perseverance.

Dharavi, which is located in India’s commercial capital Mumbai, is spread over an area of 2.5 square kilometres and has a population of 6,50,000. During the initial days, the slum saw a rapid transmission of the deadly virus.

The first COVID-19 patient in Dharavi was detected on April 1, nearly three weeks after Mumbai recorded its first positive case on March 11.

The Washington-based global lender, in its biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity report, said that in the space of three months, by July 2020, reported cases in the area had been cut to 20 per cent of their peak in May. It appreciated the effective approach that tapped the skills and dedication of community members to stem the rapid spread of coronavirus in Dharavi.

It also praised how Mumbai civic body mobilised community members and staff from private medical clinics for a strategy based on mass screening for fever and oxygen levels. To help poor families during the lockdown, foundations, nongovernmental organisations and volunteers provided thousands of households with ration kits.

On Tuesday, a Mumbai civic body official said that the COVID-19 tally in Dharavi slum colony rose to 3,280 with the addition of 22 fresh cases.

Of the total 3,280 cases, 2,795 patients have been recovered from the infection, he said, adding that the slum now has 192 active patients.

In July, the World Health Organisation (WHO) also praised the efforts taken to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in Dharavi, underscoring the need for community engagement along with national unity and global solidarity to turn the pandemic around.