How countries, companies rushed medical aid to Karnataka

BENGALURU: Since May, the Karnataka government has received 8,310 oxygen concentrators and cylinders, 6,525 ventilators, a significant amount of medicines and other resources for the Covid-19 battle from Indian and international donors. During the second wave, the government had appointed a nodal officer and a team to secure and track consignments from major companies, organisations and foreign governments.


The state has also received financial assistance of Rs 37 crore from public sector units and private entities’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes since April. The money was donated to the chief minister’s Covid relief fund (Rs 11 crore) and the

Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority

(Rs 26 crore).

During the second wave, the state grappled with a high Covid caseload and shortages of medical oxygen, beds and certain drugs.US multinational Honeywell has helped set up 10 ICU beds in Bowring Hospital and provided 150 oxygen concentrators, 10 Fowler cots and other equipment. Americares India Foundation donated 250 oxygen concentrators of 5

LPM

, 10 concentrators of 10 LPM, 10,000

PPE

kits and 2,500 N95 masks.

Kuwait, the Czech Republic, the UAE, Singapore and the US sent concentrators, cylinders and medicines. The state received 25,000 vials of remdesivir from Egypt and America and 76,800 doses of Favipiravir from the UAE.

“There was an outpouring of support from foreign governments and civil society. We have been working continuously with several NGOs and are also strengthening the medical infrastructure in the state,” said Karnataka nodal officer Uma Mahadevan.

The received equipment was provided to all district hospitals and to government medical facilities in Bengaluru, depending on the requests raised by deputy commissioners and BBMP.

The government plans to provide some of the medical equipment, including cylinders and concentrators, to primary healthcare centres (PHCs) and sub-centres. “After district and taluk hospitals augment their liquid medical oxygen facilities and set up PSA oxygen generators, available equipment will be passed on to PHCs, sub-centres and wellness facilities,” said health commissioner

KV Trilok Chandra

.

According to

KSDMA

commissioner Manoj Ranjan, the revenue department had received Rs 79 crore since April 2020 and a sum of Rs 34.1 crore was last given for Covid relief in September last year.

“Of this, Rs 14.5 crore is from private companies for tackling Covid-19,” he said.

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