Learnet Skills & UN Women Upskill Healthcare Staff on Issues of Gender-Based Violence, COVID-19, and Cyber Safety

In the 2019 Global Health Security Index that measures pandemic preparedness for countries, India ranked 57, suggesting its vulnerability to the pandemic. It exposed our healthcare systems and the challenges associated with it – inadequate facilities, lack of knowledge, overburdened hospitals and high demand. Healthcare workers, however, have been braving the frontline without any hesitation. It is essential for us to understand that doing so puts them at an elevated risk of contracting COVID-19 and are therefore required to be upskilled and capacitated to handle the crisis. Women make up 38% of the total healthcare workforce in India, but are largely undervalued.

Considering this great need, Learnet Skills and UN Women have joint hands to capacitate frontline workers on COVID-19 and awareness on Gender Based Violence, as well as Law & Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) working on cyber safety for gender responsive action. We aim to create sensitization amongst anganwadi workers, nurses, and law enforcement personnel for appropriate handling of gender-based violence of women at risk/survivors. It further seeks to strengthen the healthcare system for timely recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and overall care of COVID-19 patients.

It is an online trainer-led programme, impacting 35,000 anganwadis, 1,000 nurses, and 1,000 LEAs in Delhi, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.