Since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, ECS has been supporting the state Government efforts to contain the spread of the virus, mitigate the impact of the prolonged lockdown, and facilitating access to essential health care services which got complicated due to the lockdown and the conversion of district hospitals as Covid-19 centres.

ECS and its associates are part of the district and local Covid-19 task force in all the districts where ECS has its projects and have been working in close coordination since the beginning. From facilitating the setting up of quarantine centres in most villages across the three districts to accommodate returnees from outside to the distribution of 2,35,000 N95 masks for frontline workers in all the districts of Nagaland, ECS was deeply involved at the ground level during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020.

Food rations for 300 households in Tuensang and 5000 cloth face-masks were provided to citizens through the district administration. Food packages were also provided to 1288 pregnant and lactating mothers across the project villages. Sensitization programs were conducted for the elderly people from the neighbouring villages which discussed on COVID-19 - modes of infection, symptoms, and preventive measures like proper hand hygiene, cough etiquette, etc. Many other sensitization trainings were held on precautionary measures to prevent Covid-19 spread and to adapt to change, with frontline workers in different PHCs.Through the ECS adopted PHC at Longpang, Tuensang ECS has enabled Rapid Antigen Testing kits for the public at a very nominal rate for people from underprivileged backgrounds, in the Longpang PHC, to have access to testing services.

During the Covid-19 lockdown period, people were facing many problems in and around the district and everything became scarce starting from our basic supplies such as rice and vegetables, as movement and entry of vehicles were restricted. With the initiative of the ECS-supported Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) along with the ECS livelihood team and the District Administration, the farmers were mobilized to sell their farm produce by procuring it to the town and central marketing sheds and making it available to the general public. For months the local produce was able to sustain and meet the local demands through the local farm produce rather than depending on imports from other states. The FPOs not only sold the farm produce but also provided charitable services by contributing vegetables to the various quarantine centers during the lockdown. ECS also organised relief package for pregnant and lactating mothers, children and adolescent girls in the area during 2020 with the support of School Education and Social welfare department.

With the second wave of Covid -19 hitting the state in 2021, ECS is proactively engaged with the Tuensang district task force in setting up a quarantine centre in Tuensang village for those people who do not have a place to isolate themselves. ECS also coordinated with the state government in collecting the on-ground data of existing medical facilities in Covid hospitals and sharing it with the ACT Grant Team who donated 60 Oxygen Concentrators to the district hospitals in Nagaland.

ECS in collaboration with the District Administration with support from Azim Premji Foundation had initiated a 100 bedded Covid Care Centre in the district of Tuensang and Mon which took in patients from marginalized families that did not have a place to isolate themselves. The patients would also be supported with food, basic medical services, referrals, and counselling.

Through various funding such as Action-aid we have contributed 130 Oxygen Concentrators, PPE kits, drugs and consumables, gloves, etc.In collaboration with DTF and DHS, ECS conducted training and awareness on covid-19, vaccination, stitched masks and distributed to front-line workers, and had also conducted door-to-door line listing of people willing to vaccinate in Tuensang town.

Currently in collaboration with Goonj, relief package was distributed to 300 most marginalised families of construction workers, daily wage earners, old and aged family etc in Tuensang Town.