WHO to provide 4,000 oxygen concentrators to India to combat COVID-19 crisis

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday said that it will dispatch 4,000 Oxygen concentrators to India to help the country in its fight against the COVID-19 surge. A spokesperson for the global health organization told Sputnik, “WHO is providing critical equipment and supplies to meet the increased needs during the current surge. 4000 oxygen concentrators will be delivered, to be provided to affected states (in India).” Moreover, the spokesperson said that as many as 2,600 WHO experts across various programs including polio, TB, NTD, etc have been redeployed for their duties with the WHO to help the organization to tackle the pandemic across countries like India with healthcare systems buckling under the deadly cases spike. 

The WHO had earlier called the COVID situation in India “complex,” as the Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, that the country may require a more robust and different response, adding that it needed to boost vaccine production. The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance warned earlier on April 26 during World Immunization Week, that there was an urgent need for a renewed global commitment to improving vaccination access and uptake for all countries of the world. 

“Vaccines will help us end the COVID-19 pandemic but only if we ensure fair access for all countries, and build strong systems to deliver them,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s Director-General in a WHO statement. “And if we’re to avoid multiple outbreaks of life-threatening diseases like measles, yellow fever, and diphtheria, we must ensure routine vaccination services are protected in every country in the world.”

'Lifesaving gas' on its way 

Pledging support and expressing solidarity with India’s fight against the covid health crisis, UK dispatched vital medical aid that arrived in India earlier yesterday. UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in a statement that ta least nine airline containers with key medical equipment, including 495 oxygen concentrators and 140 ventilators was immediately sent to India. UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ”We stand side by side with India as a friend and partner during what is a deeply concerning time in the fight against Covid-19.”

[The urgent supply shipment is being undertaken in coordination with India’s Adani group and Linde company. Credit: Twitter/Indian Embassy Riyadh]

Ireland meanwhile also announced on Tuesday that it was preparing to send 700 oxygen concentrators to India for it to overcome the oxygen shortage due onslaught of cases. Saudi Arabia on Sunday also shipped 80 metric tons of lifesaving gas to India to alleviate the crisis. Under the mega-corporation Amazon’s ‘Mission Vayu’ initiative, ACT Grants, Temasek Foundation, Pune Platform for COVID-19 Response (PPCR), and other partners have collaborated to urgently airlift over 8000 oxygen concentrators and 500 BiPAP machines from Singapore. The medical equipment will be donated to hospitals to augment their capacity to help COVID-19, the company said in a blog post. 

[Amazon India is also procuring over 1500 oxygen concentrators. Credit: Amazon Blog]