Nonprofit offers Indian women cash, other assistance to deal with effects of extreme heat

Thousands of low-income women in India are receiving assistance to cope with the health and economic effects of the deadly triple-digit temperatures ravaging the country.

Climate resilience for alla non-profit organization dedicated to protecting people from the impacts of extreme heat, announced on Wednesday that it will provide 50,000 women in India with a financial package “that combines insurance, cash for lost earnings and, soon, an alert system precocious”.

The group said the triple-digit temperatures of recent weeks have already triggered some payments. Each of the 50,000 women received about $5 in cash assistance, or about 83.52 Indian rupees, as each district reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Women enrolled in the nonprofit’s Women’s Climate Shock Insurance and Livelihoods Initiative received additional help. This program is offered to women of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) whose “outdoor work can cause chronic rashes, dizziness, burns, infections and miscarriage, as well as loss of crops or commodities that results in economic disaster on a level family level,” the nonprofit said.

Arunaben Makwana, one of the women who received financial assistance from Climate Resilience for All, said in a released statement that “money from the program allowed me to pay my medical expenses and buy food for my family.”

Kathy Baughman McLeod, CEO of the nonprofit, said the program was one of the first of its kind and that the need will only increase as global temperatures worsen and continue to have devastating impacts on people around the world.

“There is one thing pushing SEWA women further into poverty: climate change,” she said. “This program provides options and opportunities despite the extreme heat.”

Under their initiative, women in 22 districts of India received additional financial assistance in the form of insurance payments. In total, 92% of the 50 thousand beneficiaries receive insurance assistance. The highest insurance payment was $19.80 (1,653.73 Indian rupees) per person in the country’s Dungarpur district, with women in other districts receiving an average of $7.38, the non-profit organization said. .

Temperatures across Asia, especially in the Indian subcontinent, have been punishing this summer. In fact, summer in much of Asia — including India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam — arrived in spring itself, when temperatures broke records in late April and early May, exceeding 110 degrees Fahrenheit. O hot flasheswhich occur regularly annually in the Asia-Pacific region, were worsened by the El Niño weather phenomenon this year.

O heat at the end of May and June so far has been scorching in India, where more than 100 people died last month because of heatstroke and other heat-related causes. Temperatures in the Indian capital, New Delhi, and dozens of other cities have surpassed 122 degrees Fahrenheit at least twice this month, but have been above 113 Fahrenheit consistently for weeks. Scientists say that in addition to high daytime temperatures, the long duration of heat waves and higher nighttime temperatures have worse effects on human bodies that don’t get enough cooling time.

The India Meteorological Department confirmed this week that this was the longest heat wave: 24 days in different parts of the country. The heat wave has also triggered a water crisis in many parts of India, including New Delhi, where people face shortages of supplies transported by trucks, for which they often have to pay.

Climate Resilience for All says its program plans to expand to more communities in India and Africa next year.

“Every dollar invested in women’s health yields three in economic activity,” said the non-profit organization.