Offering a helping hand amid the Covid-19 spurt, the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Sunday called his counterpart NSA Ajit Doval and said “just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its time of need”.
This assistance came along with UK and EU after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday in his Mann ki baat radio address said that the Covid-19 pandemic has now “shaken” the country and was “testing ou patience”.
The UK government ensured that more than 600 pieces of medical equipment will be sent to India to battle against the Coronavirus disease.
“The United States has identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India,” said a statement released by White House after Sullivan’s call.
“To help treat Covid- 19 patients and protect front-line health workers in India, the United States has identified supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that will immediately be made available for India. The United States also is pursuing options to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis,” the statement said.
At least a dozen of ISO containers to help in transporting oxygen within the country will be sent to India from different parts of Asia. A dozen is already set to be shipped to India and the focus is on trippling this number, said the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).
The USISPF also ensured that “members are working on airlifting oxygen cylinders into Delhi and a few other states that face shortage of oxygen supply”.
The USISPF throgh donations from its member companies has placed orders to send 1 lakh oxygen portable concentrators immediately to India. For this the USISPF is already in touch with the manufacturers of China, Malaysia, Mexico and US.
The forum also said that India will soon get vaccine shipments directly from the pharmaceutical companies.
Beginning the shipments either from Tuesday or Wednesday the USISPF said that it has contacted many US companies to immediately supply or donate Covid-test kits, ICU beds, N-95 masks and other needed medical equipments.
Apart from this, US is also forming a team of medical experts from both the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and USAID to continuously collaborate with India’s health ministry, India’s Epidemic Intelligence Service staff and US embassy.
While from UK, 9 airline container with loads of supplies, 495 oxygen concentrators, 20 manual ventilators and 120 non-invasive ventilators will be delivered to India within this week.
“Vital medical equipment, including hundreds of oxygen concentrators and ventilators, is now on its way from the UK to India to support efforts to prevent the tragic loss of life from this terrible virus,” sais UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Assuring its full support to India the EU commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarcic, said, “Upon request for assistance by India, we have activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The EU will do its utmost to mobilise assistance to support people of India.”
EU is already coopertating and is ready to provide “urgently needed oxygen & medicine rapidly,” he added.
