US rushes emergency supplies to India |
The US is rushing supplies worth more than $100 million, including oxygen generation systems and raw materials for vaccines, to back India`s Covid-19 response in the face of a devastating second wave of Covid-19 infections. The first emergency relief shipment, which is expected to arrive in India on a US military transport aircraft from Travis Air Force Base, will include 440 oxygen cylinders and regulators donated by the state of California. The flight will also carry 960 thousand rapid diagnostic tests and 100 thousand N95 masks provided by USAID. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on 29th April tweeted, “Thanks to @US_TRANSCOM, @AirMobilityCmd, @Travis60AMW & @DLAmil for hustling to prepare critical @USAID medical supplies for shipping. As I`ve said, we`re committed to using every resource at our disposal, within our authority, to support India`s frontline healthcare workers.” Significantly, an Indian-American non-profit body Sewa International USA, has also raised nearly $4.7 million through social media towards COVID-19 relief efforts in India. It said, "This is a collective effort that can save lives, defeat hunger, assure distressed people, and help India in its decisive fight against COVID-19,". On 27th April, Sewa put together a shipment of 2,184 oxygen concentrators to be sent to India. In less than 100 hours of launching the fund-raising campaign, more than 66,700 Indian-Americans came out to raise over $4.7 million for COVID-19 relief efforts in India. It added, "As the pandemic is causing economic hardships by forcing partial lockdowns, we are planning to distribute over 10,000 essential item kits to families and assist more than 1,000 orphanages and senior care centers." American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic medical organization in the country, on 27th April announced a nationwide campaign for medical oxygen, tele-consult, and educational webinars to help combat COVID-19 in India.
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