Despite precarious working conditions, sanitation workers provide an essential service at the cost of their safety, health, and dignity. With the outbreak of COVID-19, their position is further jeopardised. The situation is likely to become more grave if these invisible frontline workers continue to interact with communities either without or with inadequate protective gear and safety equipment. To combat the ongoing public health crisis, while most strategies focus on scientific and technical solutions crucial to contain the epidemic, simultaneously there is a need to strengthen preparedness and response measures to safeguard the invisible frontline sanitation workers.
Against this background, a rapid research study was launched during the lockdown in April, 2020 to delve deeper into issues sanitation workers face during COVID-19 lockdown. The study was rolled out across ten cities – Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, NOIDA, Ghaziabad, Ranchi, Bhilai, Udaipur, Puri, and Bhubaneswar – where SCIFI researchers were already present during the lockdown.