In our latest #PennPandemicDiary, our Graduate Associate @CD_planner explores the uniqe challenges faced by people living in slum housing during the #COVID19 pandemic, and what can be done to help them: https://global.upenn.edu/perryworldhouse/news/penn-pandemic-diary-entry-5-how-fight-coronavirus-slums

He also put forward some actions that government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, and volunteers can take to help these vulnerable communities

"Prevent local governments from demolishing slums or removing households from slums, unless it is to temporarily accommodate them in a safer environment, guaranteeing their ability to return."

"Get residents of slums involved in planning and implementing measures [to prevent the spread of #COVID19]. They may not be public health experts, but they are the experts on what will and will not work in their communities."

"Find creative ways of communicating public health messages clearly and credibly."

"Deploy water trucks and supplies of soap to help residents of slums wash their hands more frequently to slow the spread of the illness. Organize food banks which can feed out-of-work households if necessary."

"As long as this pandemic lasts, make it illegal for any landlord, formal or informal, to evict tenants," writes Deuskar. "Take specific steps to ensure the policy is carried out in slums, including harsh penalties on landlords who flout this law."

His final message is a powerful one: "Governments, as well as the wider public, are often unsympathetic to the plight of slum dwellers...they should recognize that this is a shared crisis, and rampant infection among any section of their population threatens everyone."