Siddhi Philanthropic Foundation, a non-profit engaged in social welfare initiatives and programs at grassroots level, has launched a massive campaign to spread awareness on Covid-19 vaccination in India. The campaign VACCINATING INDIA will unite efforts at local level with district administrations in many states to facilitate increased vaccination in remote areas.
Siddhi plans to align with the national vaccination efforts towards a Covid-free India by educating the masses in rural and semi-urban areas to address issues of vaccine hesitancy and allaying fears regarding vaccination.
The villages and areas where the project will be launched in the next 6 months include villages in remote villages of Haryana and 40 villages in Chandauli District UP, Remote areas of Siliguri and Jabalpur MP.
Dr. Meenaa Mahaajjan, Founder, Siddhi Philanthropic Foundation has launched this project in the presence of district officials in the respective places. She has been the driving force behind the foundation that is engaged in several other programs related to women empowerment, employment of people who lost their jobs during COVID , free food for the poor, apart from the vaccinating India campaign.
This is not the first time that the non-profit has come forward to help underprivileged people get vaccinated, it has been continuously working during the pandemic in the first and second COVID waves as well. From providing cooked food to dry rations and sanitation kits they have reached out to more than a million people across the nation. They have done rehabilitation work across India to support the vulnerable communities.
In a similar effort to increase the uptake of the vaccine, Siddhi launched a Incentive based program for rural communities. They helped the people to register for the vaccination, educate them for the need and incentivise them for the vaccination. The programme undoubtedly saw more than expected turnout and a successful campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated.
While Siddhi will drive the campaign across districts by mobilizing the community, its local partners including other NGOs, Self Help Groups and anganwadis will connect with the people through community programmes distributing pamphlets door to door in local languages, for better communication and understanding.
“This is a large-scale and innovative effort at a grassroot level and we may try to repeat what we did in Rewari, Siliguri and Chandauli, however, a final plan is underway. This will definitely address the issue of vaccine hesitancy in semi-urban and rural areas,” said Dr Meenaa Mahaajjan.
Although Covid-19 numbers have dropped across big cities in India, the latest surge in daily coronavirus cases in Kerala and a highly anticipated third wave have raised concern over the vaccination of masses. In such a developing scenario, Siddhi hopes to leave no stone unturned in educating and encouraging masses for proper inoculation so that herd immunity can be achieved by increasing footfall for vaccination.
