Describing the surge of COVID-19 infections and deaths in India as "nothing short of heartbreaking , Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday that the country's welfare is critically important to the United States.

Pledging that the Biden administration is determined to help India in its hour of need, Harris said that the entire government machinery has been galvanised to help the country in this hour of crisis.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 4,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, when our hospital beds were stretched, India sent assistance. And today, we are determined to help India in its hour of need," Harris said in her remarks at the State Department's Diaspora outreach event on US COVID Relief for India.

"We do this as friends of India, as members of the Asian Quad, and as part of the global community. I believe that if we continue to work together across nations and sectors we will all get through this," Harris said.

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced USD 100 million assistance to India to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. In about a week's time, as many as six plane loads of COVID-19 assistance have landed in India. The entire administration has been galvanized to help India in this hour of crisis. The White House and the State Department is coordinating with the corporate sector, which has mounted an unprecedented private sector relief for any country ever.

Indian-Americans have been raising millions of dollars and have been sending life-saving health care equipment and medicines to India. Sewa International USA has raised more than USD 10 million, American Association of Physicians of Indian-Origin or AAPI have raised USD 3.5 million and Indiaspora more than USD2 million, to name some of them.

In her remarks, Harris recognised the contribution of Indian-Americans on the issue.

"For years, diaspora groups like Indiaspora and the American India Foundation have built bridges between the United States and India. And this past year, you have provided vital contributions to COVID-19 relief efforts. Thank you for your work," said the vice president.

"As many of you know, generations of my family come from India. My mother was born and raised in India. And I have family members who live in India today. The welfare of India is critically important to the United States," Harris said.

"The surge of COVID-19 infections and deaths in India is nothing short of heartbreaking. To those of you who have lost loved ones, I send my deepest condolences. As soon as the dire nature of the situation became apparent, our Administration took action," she said, referring to the steps that the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to help India in this hour of crisis.

On April 26, President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to offer America's support. By April 30, US military members and civilians were delivering relief on the ground, she said, referring to the whole-of-government approach that the administration has taken to help India.

source:https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/covid-19-surge-in-india-heartbreaking-us-determined-to-help-the-country-vp-kamala-harris

As India continues to cope with a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin has stepped up to help the country get through the surge.

Of late, India has reported nearly 350,000 new coronavirus cases per day in the past week-plus. The spike in infections has led to deadly shortages of oxygen, ambulances and hospital beds.

Countries around the world have pledged to send aid in the form of medical supplies and vaccine doses, but urgent requests for ventilators and intensive care unit beds continue to flood social media, according to the AAPI release.

As India’s health-care system buckles under pressure, AAPI is leading several efforts to support, coordinate and reach the much-needed help in this hour of need, it said.

AAPI president Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda said in a statement that the generosity of its members and others had allowed the association to be able to make progress in its efforts to deal with an unfolding and uncontrollable COVID-19 crisis in the South Asian country.

The Indian American physician announced that “AAPI is facilitating interaction between U.S. and Indian doctors to advise them about the evidence-based protocols to treat COVID-19 patients.”

It has evaluated three HIPAA compliant telehealth platforms to treat patients in India. AAPI is also working on relaxing the restrictions on U.S. physicians to treat patients in India.

In its efforts to serve as a physician on humanitarian grounds to help patients in India, AAPI has identified and facilitates the following platforms/links for those who want to use the Telehealth established platforms: http://Mdtok.com/dr/Covid and www.eGobalDoctors.com.

AAPI encourages using this route because they give global malpractice coverage: They offer free service for 1-to-3 months for its physicians to help Indian patients, as these platforms serve and help every Indian American physician to become a registered physician in India, by renewing his/her India licenses ASAP and can start services, the release said.

Regarding medical supplies, “As we pledged, we are able to very quickly secure the much needed and in demand O2 concentrators through our reliable and committed partner (SEWA International),” Jonnalagadda said. “We have shipped by air freight, the first batch of 1,000 of the O2 Concentrators on April 29.”

AAPI, in collaboration with its partners on the ground in India, has identified destinations based on urgency and acute need for the medical equipment to be able to serve and save as many lives as quickly, and to prevent avoidable catastrophe for the simple lack of oxygen, the AAPI president said, adding: “We have no doubt, this is just the beginning of a long road ahead. We are assessing the situation on the ground constantly and coordinating with various local task forces and teams.”

AAPI is in constant touch with the Indian Embassy and Indian Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan to see how best it can help India during this horrific pandemic. AAPI has also written to a letter Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to lock down the country to contain the spread of the virus, and to ramp up the vaccinations, it added.

More information on AAPI and its efforts to coordinate services for the people of India can be found at www.aapiusa.org.

source: https://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/aapi-identifies-telehealth-platforms-for-indian-american-physicians-to-help-treat-covid-patients-in-india/article_e743a0ba-aeab-11eb-b98e-47a49a3722da.html

Members of SEWA UK assist with oxygen concentrators for India.

courtesy SEWA

Shastri Boodan

Sewa International TT (SewaTT) has raised close to $500,000 to assist victims of COVID-19 in India and people affected by the volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Head of the organisation Reevan Teelucksingh said around $112,000 has been raised for India.

He said the monies went directly to SEWA USA for the purchase of oxygen concentrators.

Teelucksingh said SEWA International USA had built a strong relationship with the manufacturers of the oxygen concentrator.

He said the concentrators are purchased at a cost of US$500.

He said SEWA Bharat is also on the ground in India providing food support for people under lockdown.

SEWA Bharat is a federation of women-led institutions providing economic and social support to women in the informal sector.

Teelucksingh said the St Vincent drive has been phenomenal with over $300,000 being collected for the volcano victims.

Teelucksingh said both the India and St Vincent drives would be closed on May 10 in order for Sewa to start assisting victims of the fallout of COVID-19 in T&T.

Teelucksingh said people can donate by visiting SEWA.ORG or calling 333 Sewa.

source: https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/sewatt-raises-500000-for-india-svg-6.2.1324698.e3178d6247

People aged 18 and over waiting to be inoculated against Covid-19 at a vaccination centre at Radha Soami Satsang grounds being run by BLK-Max hospital on May 4, 2021 in New Delhi, India.

Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times | Getty Images

Global logistics companies UPS and FedEx are providing critical aid to India as Covid cases there topped 20 million, including more than 222,000 deaths.

UPS announced Wednesday that its philanthropic arm, The UPS Foundation, is pledging $1 million in aid to India in a mix of emergency funding, transportation of goods, technical expertise and the support of its 1,000 employees in India.

“There is nothing in the world right now that matters more than getting aid to India during this tragic time,” UPS Foundation President Nikki Clifton told CNBC. “Providing global humanitarian relief in times of crisis is a core part of our work.”

India has about 3.45 million active Covid cases, according to health ministry data. On Wednesday, India reported 382,315 new daily infections, the 14th straight day of new cases over 300,000.

UPS is coordinating with UNICEF, CARE International, The Salvation Army, Sewa International and other groups to ship and deliver oxygen concentrators, ventilators, nebulizers, respiratory supplies, personal protective equipment, Covid test kits and antiviral medications.

The Atlanta-based carrier delivered more than 5,000 oxygen concentrators Monday as well as respirator equipment for hospitals rural areas north of the nation’s largest city, Mumbai. An oxygen concentrator, as described by the World Health Organization, is a device that draws in room air and passes it through a series of filters and much like an oxygen tank delivers it to the patient.

Last week, FedEx announced a $4 million commitment, including a cash donation, equipment transport and support from its 7,000 employees in India. The Memphis, Tennessee-based company has already sent an initial shipment of 1,000 of oxygen concentrators. It’s in the process of transporting more than 1,800 pounds of medicine and PPE through a partnership with Direct Relief.

Raj Subramaniam, president and COO at FedEx, appeared on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Tuesday to discuss the company’s effort. “We have been working with the Indian ambassador and we are able to move things in a streamlined fashion into India. ... Our job is to move those oxygen containers and oxygen concentrators to India, and the supplies all over the world.”

“FedEx is uniquely positioned to help because of our networks,” he continued. “We fly on a day on a regularly scheduled basis four [Boeing 777 jets] and an MD 11 into India into three different markets. It’s coming from all over. There’s an outpouring of support from across the world, and we have a unique capability of actually bringing that to India, so that’s what we’re doing.”

Subramaniam, who grew up in India, said this mission is deeply personal. “I have family members and friends who have really been impacted by the crisis. So we are doing everything in our power to make sure we leave no stone unturned ... to deliver critical components to India.”

Another U.S. company, Amazon, said it’s providing over $5 million in aid to India by purchasing critical medical equipment and transporting with its logistics arm. The effort, which began last week, includes encouraging employees in India who have recovered from Covid to donate blood plasma.

source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/05/covid-crisis-in-india-ups-and-fedex-mobilize-their-logistics-networks.html