Countries rush to aid India; Distribution plan remains unclear

More than 20 countries have come forward to send medical supplies to India for its fight against the second wave of COVID-19.

New Delhi: India, in the last few weeks, has been receiving aid from all over the world in an effort to fight the devastating second wave that has hit the country. The country is currently going through one of the worst Covid-19 waves in the entire world; registering four lakh cases in a day. Crates of oxygen concentrators and ventilators along with other emergency medical supplies like PPE kits have arrived from the US, the UK and many other countries all over the world. 

The Distribution Plan

With the country receiving tonnes of medical supplies in the form of aid, questions are being raised on how the supplies will be distributed. In the last five days, the Delhi Airport has received 300 tonnes of Medical supply. However, in the last two days, hospitals in Delhi have issued SOS calls on Twitter for depleting oxygen supply. 

https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/1387590542574297092

CRY FOR HELP: Received only 5 #oxygen cylinders after running around the entire day, not more than 60 mins left to save lives of more than 250 patients. Crying out to Govt authorities to shift out our patients ASAP so that they can be saved.@narendramodi @Arvindkejariwal

— Aakash Healthcare (@AakashHSSH) May 2, 2021

Saket Gokhale, RTI activist has filed an RTI today with the Ministry of Health to give details on how much of the foreign aid received has been disbursed to the States. The Government of India has to respond within 48 hours. The Finance Ministry has announced that once the consignment reaches the airport, it is handed over to the Indian Red Cross Society, which receives all supplies on behalf of the government, according to reports.

Filed a Sec 7(1) RTI with the Ministry of Health asking details about how many of the foreign aid emergency Covid-19 supplies received since 30th April have been disbursed to various states.

The response has to be legally furnished within 48 hours by the Govt of India.

(1/2) pic.twitter.com/VUhykPTHzh

— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) May 4, 2021

India Today and many other networks are trying to access information on the distribution of the aid but there is no clarity yet. The government has not provided a website or platform to access any relevant information. 

Here is a list of supplies India has so far received or is about to receive in the coming week

The United States has been at the forefront of sending foreign aid to India. India has so far received five emergency shipments with the following:

1. 500+ oxygen concentrators
2. 960,000 rapid diagnostic tests
3. 100,000+ N95 masks. 
4. 125,000 vials of the antiviral drug Remdesivir 
5. over 1000 oxygen cylinders, regulators & other medical equipment

The United Kingdom has pledged to send over 1000 oxygen cylinders and 200 boxes of oxygen concentrators as well as 3 oxygen generation units. So far the country has received

1. 450 oxygen cylinders
2. 260 ventilators 
3. 280 oxygen concentrators
4. 120 oxygen concentrators
5. 100 ventilators & 95 oxygen concentrators
6. 723 oxygen concentrators (through donations)

Russia 

1. 1st consignment with 1.5 lakh doses of Sputnik-V vaccine
2. Two Russian flights carrying 20 oxygen concentrators, 75 ventilators, 150 bedside monitors, and medicines totalling 22 MT

The European Union 

The EU has activated its EU Civil Protection Mechanism to help India in its fight against the second wave of the Covid-19. Several member nations have sent aid to India with many more like Spain and Denmark announcing fresh aid.

1. France– 28 tons of medical equipment worth more than 17 crore rupees with 28 ventilators and 200 electric syringe pushers.
2. Romania- 80 oxygen concentrators and 75 oxygen cylinders
3. Germany- 120 ventilators and a team of 13 medical experts reached India Saturday.
4. Ireland- 700 units of oxygen concentrators and 365 ventilators
5. Belgium – 9000 vials of Remdesivir.
6. Italy- an oxygen production plant & 20 ventilators along with a team of experts
7. Denmark is sending to India 53 ventilators, while Spain is supplying 119 oxygen concentrators and 145 ventilators, according to reports.

The Gulf Countries

1. Bahrain-40 MT of liquid oxygen
2. Kuwait- 282 oxygen cylinders, 60 oxygen concentrators, ventilators and other medical supplies.
3. Qatar- 300t medical aid-ventilators, concentrators, PPE, 200 O2 cylinders and 43 O2 concentrators
4. UAE- 7 ISO tankers with 20 MT Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), 157 ventilators, 480 BiPAPs and other medical supplies

Asian countries and Neighbouring States

1. Singapore has sent a consignment of 256 oxygen cylinders 7511 concentrators, 516 BiPAPs and 8 tanks
2. Thailand has sent 15 oxygen concentrators and pledged to send 100 more. 
3. Taiwan- 50 oxygen concentrators and 500 oxygen cylinders
4. China- 12 ISO containers procured commercially by an Indian company 4 transporting Liquid Medical Oxygen.
5. Hong Kong- 800 oxygen concentrators

Data is obtained from the Ministry of External Affairs 

With inputs from Pooja Das and Himanshi Akhand