Shabnam Verma

According to a report by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, Government of India (Composite water management index: a tool for water management. https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2019-08/CWMI-2.0-latest.pdf, 2019), nearly 600 million people in India face extreme water stress. The problem is exacerbated in the hot sum...

Background and Objective: Accessing timely, affordable services is a crucial health determinant urban for urban poor in India. Urban Health Resource Centre (UHRC) mentors slum-based women’s savings groups in slums of Indore, India. Each group comprises of 10-12 members. We studied how collective savings and loans help families of women’s groups in...

The informal economy is crucial for making cities function, and it provides the main means of income for a significant proportion of all workers globally. At the same time, informal workers are extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with higher temperatures and more intense weather events causing direct physical harm and contributin...

This paper examines the impact of the pandemic on India’s public health system of the country, especially from the perspective of urban slumdwellers. Drawing on a qualitative study carried out by the Urban Health Resource Centre in selected slums in Indore and Agra, the paper reflects the impact of the pandemic on the provision of essential health...

In this working paper, we report on the complex risks, challenges, adaptations and aspirations of informal workers and settlement dwellers in Indore, the economic capital of Madhya Pradesh. India’s economic growth is concentrating in urban areas, where informal employment plays a huge role. Yet informal workers remain marginalised including in thei...

Background The study aims to understand the effect of COVID lockdown on MCH for slum dwellers and coping mechanisms adopted in Indore and Agra, India. Slum women's perspectives on seeking, delaying, avoiding healthcare in COVID-19, barriers and facilitators were explored. Methods In-person qualitative interviews were conducted in slums in Sept-Oct...

Issue With livelihood loss, uncertain earning, slum families are often food insecure, at risk of undernutrition particularly during COVID-19 in Indian and other LMIC cities. While wheat flour was provided free during lockdown, later at subsidized costs and during non-COVID times, vegetables need to be bought at market price. Methods UHRC provided...

Background Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPACR), promotes utilization of skilled maternal and neonatal care. Preparing for childbirth reduces delays in seeking care. Brick-kiln workers constitute a vulnerable social group who contribute to city infrastructure by laboring at low wages. 37% of the sample were Scheduled Castes, 49% Sc...

Urban Health Resource Centre’s (UHRC) social facilitators encourage families to grow vegetables in small spaces in slum houses. Seeds were provided. Facilitators motivate families to tend plants as they grow. During 2018–2019, 495 families grew beans, bottle gourds, round gourds, sponge gourds, tomatoes, brinjals, small green peppers, and pumpkins...

Slum children/youth are excluded from the benefits of India’s urbanizing economy. Unequal access to education, self-expression hinder actualizing their potential. This programme research is undertaken in Indore, India to better understand the methods through which slum children (a) overcome gender inequality; (b) overcome hesitation, develop confid...

Issue There is a need for adaptable/scalable methods to understand environmental determinants of health and well-being in slums of LMIC cities. Catalysing grassroots actions to reduce health inequalities is needed with strong community leadership in slums. Methods Conducted in 2016-2017 in Indore (3 m population), India this practice undertakes qu...

Issue Government of India's, NITI Aayog reports that 600 million people in India face extreme water stress. Slums and similarly vulnerable urban populations face huge challenges in accessing water for basic needs, increasing in summers. Indore is an extreme water stressed city in India. Methods During Urban Health Resource Centre's (UHRC) program...

This study is an attempt to understand Family Planning (FP) needs and adoption among three categories of urban disadvantaged – older settlers; seasonal migrants and recent migrants, factors contributing to level of FP adoption, access to services and possible strategies to improve implementation in Indore City, India.

According to the latest census, there are about 13.7 million slum households in all of India, of which 4.9 million are neither recognised nor notified. Considered as informal, such settlements are often deemed illegal by authorities, especially when newly formed. This supposed “illegality” presents challenges to the residents, adding housing instab...

Background: Many adolescents grow-up with inadequate access to opportunities facing challenges and risks. This study focuses on recently migrant adolescent girls in India’s fast growing urban slum population for whom multiple vulnerabilities intersect, including gender, poverty and migrant status. Objective and Methods: This qualitative study aims...