A threat to life and livelihoods: examining the effects of the first wave of COVID-19 on health and wellbeing in Bengaluru and Patna slums

Abstract

Taking advantage of our existing dataset of 6,721 slum households in two Indian cities, we undertook six rounds of follow-up phone interviews on the impact of COVID-19 between July and November 2020 with three key informants in each of 40 diverse slums. These cities showed contrasting health effects resulting from the first major wave of the COVID-19 pandemic – no deaths and nearly no illnesses were reported in Patna, while there was widespread low-intensity sickness and a cluster of deaths in Bengaluru. We found no clear pattern in the links between outbreaks and city or neighbourhood characteristics. Livelihood effects, however, were devastating across both cities. All but a few slum dwellers lost their jobs for several months and survived by cutting back on essentials, incurring loans, liquidating assets, and seeking help from neighbours. Government assistance, generous in the early part of the lockdown, dwindled rapidly. Many will likely become chronically poor.