Hunger and the COVID-19 crisis | How will India ensure food for all?
Hundreds of millions of Indians live on the edge, with no savings or stocked-up food, no land, no paid leave or remote work and hence no wages, and are facing the risk of starvation during the ongoing lockdown. Millions are unhoused or stranded away from home with no means of return. Increased discrimination along social faultlines further threatens life and livelihood during the lockdown and beyond. Join us to hear from AID partners working on the frontlines to deliver food and essential supplies, arrange shelter for stranded migrants, and advocate for immediate relief and food security for all. In this session we will discuss food security from multiple locations and perspectives, and the varied roles of the state in enabling food for all.
Date: Sunday, 19 April 2020
Time: 8:30 AM Pacific Time, 11:30 AM Eastern time, 9 PM India Time
To join, please register in advance on this link –
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0rdu-trDsoG9HeWju_DpLVUB6PPdYHkKB9
SPEAKERS
Bilal Khan works with the Bombay Sarvodaya Friendship Center and Ghar Bachao, Ghar Banao Andolan fighting evictions and advocating for housing rights in Mumbai.
Seema Kulkarni is a senior fellow at SOPPECOM and facilitator of Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch, working for the rights of women who farm.
Harsh Mander is the Director of the Centre for Equity Studies, a research organisation based in New Delhi. He also served as Special Commissioner to the Supreme Court of India in the Right to Food Campaign and was a member of the National Advisory Council of the Government of India.
Ashish Ranjan is a member of the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information, based in Bihar. He volunteered for AID for many years and is a founder-member of Jan Jagran Shakti Sanghatan, a trade union of unorganised sector workers.
Kamayani Swami, AID Jeevansathi, works with Mosamat Budhiya Trust in Araria and is a founder-member of Jan Jagran Shakti Sanghatan, a trade union of unorganised sector workers in rural Bihar.
Kiran Vissa, AID Jeevansathi, convenes the Rythu Swarajya Vedika which works to ensure sustainable livelihoods for agricultural communities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and is part of the nationwide Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA).
Association for India’s Development is a volunteer movement promoting sustainable, equitable and just development, through efforts in interconnected spheres such as education, livelihoods, natural resources including land, water and energy, agriculture, health, women’s empowerment and social justice. AID partners have provided urgent relief to several thousands of families under lockdown and are helping communities slow the spread of COVID-19 through awareness and by producing and distributing PPE and strengthening people’s access to healthcare.
More information about the COVID-19 response: https://aidindia.org/responding-to-coronavirus.
