Gujarat's pastoral communities struggling for awareness, infrastructure to combat second COVID-19 wave

The second wave of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has ravaged livelihoods of people in urban areas. Its has now quietly started to wreak havoc on the lives of people in rural areas.

Across the country, villagers are brushing off symptoms of COVID-19 as seasonal flu. The crumbling health infrastructure fails to provide them with required treatment. In this second wave of the pandemic, pastoral communities are becoming silent victims of it.

For centuries, pastoral communities have been constantly on the move to safeguard their livelihoods. Nomadic pastoralists have to ensure that their large herds get indigenous organic feed. They cannot afford to remain inside their houses even during the pandemic to be able to sustain themselves.

It becomes imperative for the administration and concerned authorities to ensure that such communities are educated enough to protect themselves from the deadly virus.

Gujarat is home to pastoralist communities like Rabaris, Bharwads, Charan, Aahir, Jatt, Mer and Sama. Sahjeevan, a non-profit based in Kutch, recently conducted a pilot survey with 95 pastoral households in Gujarat to understand the magnitude of problems arising from the ongoing second wave of the pandemic.

The survey was conducted in Surendranagar, Botad, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Rajkot and Devbhoomi Dwarka districts. The results were worrying because they pointed towards the lack of awareness about symptoms, preventive measures, diagnosis, treatment and vaccination. If such ignorance prevails amongst these migratory communities, it would be difficult to manage once the infections spreads more rapidly.  

‘Masks not practical’

Most members are of the view that their gamchas (traditional thin towel) are enough to protect them from the virus. “We wear our masks or gamchas only when we go to the nearest taluka — Sayla and Chotila. In the village we do not use either,” Munna Bhai, a 52-year-old pastoralist from Sitagarh village in Surendranagar, said.

The pastoralists are required to be with their livestock throughout the day to feed them. The scorching heat makes it difficult to use the N95 or surgical masks.

Khoda Bhai from Bhojabedi village, Jamnagar, said:

With the increase in temperature, I find it difficult to use a mask while taking my herd to the fields and grazing grounds. Whenever I go to the nearest taluka or spot a policeman patrolling on the road, I quickly wrap gamcha across my face.

Testing, treatment inadequate

There have been instances in their villages of people dying after experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. But the deaths couldn’t be attributed to the virus because RT-PCR or rapid antigen tests were not conducted. Only 5 per cent of the interviewed respondents had gotten an RT-PCR test done while the others confessed they didn’t know much about these tests.

Majority of the pastoralists believed that if they went to their local primary healthcare centre (PHC) or sub-centres, they could get tested and treated for the virus. But none of them had confirmed the availability of support such as vacant beds, ventilators, availability of medicines and skilled medical staff at these centres.

Gabharubhai Malsurbhai Khambhala from Sudamada village in Surendranagar said:

There have been 50 deaths in my village. These were all members from the pastoral community. There were hardly any RT-PCR tests conducted then and the number of beds in the nearest PHC was also inadequate.

Ramesh Bhai of Japodar village lost three members of his family to the virus. Although the nearest PHC is 10 kilometers away in Vanthali block, he took his members to Rajkot, the nearest city.

Vaccine hesitancy

The growing wave of misinformation regarding immunisation has spread to the hinterlands of Gujarat as well. Some of the community members have voiced their faith in prayers more than getting vaccinated. Others have even declared the possibility of death as a side-effect of getting vaccinated.

“Some of the villagers have said that, if we take the vaccine we could die within six months,” said Karashan Bhai, a pastoralist from Dhandhalpur village, Surendranagar.

WhatsApp messages laden with misinformation are making the pastoralists jittery. A recent one doing the rounds was on men becoming impotent as a fallout of vaccination.  

“When there is no infected member amongst us, why would we take the vaccines?” Raja Bharwad from Bhandariya village, Dwarika said confidently.

Faith trumps science

A religious leader went on fasting and was standing on a leg to ensure that coronavirus doesn’t affect the pastoral community, claimed the locals of a village. Such news has falsely assured many members in the region that the virus will not affect them.

Some other members believe that their local deity would help them get rid of the virus and they do not need to get vaccinated. Only concerted efforts by the state administration towards raising awareness could ensure that such myths are dispelled.

What's next?

The youth have shown strong enthusiasm to enhance awareness about the virus among the community elders. They believe vaccination could ensure their people are better prepared against the virus. Their conviction to equip their communities with correct information and necessary resources is reassuring.

The pastoral communities, for centuries, have remained unjustly at the peripheries of society. In the race for modernisation and urbanisation, we have long forgotten their interests.

They are believed to form one per cent (13 million) of India’s population. The constitution of the country has put the onus on the government to safeguard the well-being of marginalised communities.

The state administration should at least provide timely updates to the pastoral community with information related to tests and vaccines. This small step would empower the pastoral communities, who cannot remain behind closed doors, to seek the right aid. We cannot leave our pastoralists in the lurch.

Rituja Mitra and Aastha Maggu are members of the South Asia Regional IYRP Support Group (RISG-SA). The group is a communication channel to lobby, plan and organise actions for a UN-declared International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists that will recognise how these communities contribute to the world’s food, culture, economy and environmental health.