India's Army Of 600,000 Virus-Hunting Women Health Workers Goes On Strike | Read
They helped eradicate polio in India and reduced the number of women dying during child birth. But the country's catastrophic coronavirus outbreak, now the third-largest in the world, has pushed its all-female army of contact-tracing health workers to breaking point. After months of harassment, underpayment and lack of protection from infection, about 600,000 of the country's one million Accredited Social Health Activists -- or ASHAs, which also means hope in Hindi -- are going on strike for two days starting Aug. 7 to draw attention to their plight. Union leaders expect more may join as the word spreads.
