New Delhi: With India witnessing over 300,000 new COVID-19 cases daily, foreign countries have rushed to send supplies, especially for oxygen generation and transportation.
The United States and Europe have made the biggest promises when it comes to aid, while substantial number of private supplies appear to have been secured in Asia.
Note: The map above is generated from a fixed template created by Datawrapper and the external boundaries of India have not been accurately depicted to include the entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
Following a request for support through the EU civil protection mechanism, six European countries have responded so far with aid, which include 900 oxygen concentrators and vials of Remdesivir. “I would like to thank our Member States that came in numerously with generous offers of help, showing that the EU is a trusted partner and a friend at times of need,” said Janez Lenarčič, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management.
The United States had already given details of the initial exploration in finding equipment and medicine to be sent to India. US had also said that it would divert its own order of raw material to India to ramp-up production of Oxford AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine.
Australia also made an announcement on Tuesday on sending a large aid package, even as it announced that all flights from India have been suspended till May 15.
The Chinese embassy in India reiterated that Chinese private companies have been urged to provide quick support to Indian queries related to COVID-19 equipment.
Same day, China Chamber of Commerce for Im&Export of Medicines&Health products, leading trade&investment promotion organisation in healthcare sector, issued an initiative: Willing to walk hand in hand with India to face up to challenges, jointly protecting life and health.
— Wang Xiaojian (@ChinaSpox_India) April 27, 2021
Through private channels, supplies are coming in from Hong Kong, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, UAE and Germany.
Google has announced Rs 135 crore in funds to GiveIndia and UNICEF.
Pharma giant Gilead has offered to supply 450,000 vials of Remdesivir free of cost “to help address the immediate needs of Indian patient”. The first and second consignments would be shipped later this week.
“All seven of Gilead’s licensees based in India have significantly accelerated production of remdesivir by scaling up their batch sizes, adding new manufacturing facilities and/or onboarding local contract manufacturers across the country,” said a company press release.
Besides, members of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum are assisting with transportation of 12 ISO oxygen containers, oxygen cylinders into India, 100,000 portable oxygen concentrators, ICU beds, COVID-19 test kits, N-95 masks and other medical equipment.