IN India's fight against Covid-19 pandemic, Rotary has collaborated with ACT Grants, Swasth Alliance and Feeding India to enable deployment and monitoring support for about 50,000 oxygen concentrators/cylinders/BIPAPS across India.
Rotary along with its partners will soon facilitate and enable tracking of utilisation of the devices at the healthcare facilities.
“Rotary’s motto of ‘Service above Self’ has been driving our 1.65 lakh members in over 4000 clubs across the country to respond to their communities ever since pandemic hit last year," Shekhar Mehta, Rotary International’s president-elect said.
He added: "During the second wave this year, we continue to fight the pandemic with over 1000 Covid beds and free vaccination centres set up, along with assistance with procurement, cold chain storage and delivery of vaccines across various states. This partnership will intensify our work with state governments to identify the best utility of the oxygen equipment in areas of greatest need across the country, so that we are best prepared for the third wave of coronavirus in case it comes our way.”
Last year, when India was battling the first wave of coronavirus, Rotary members of India had raised Rs 105 crore and donated it to the PM Cares Fund. Furthermore, another Rs 150 crore were spent at the ground level towards providing ventilators, face masks, food, sanitizers and PPE kits to the hospitals and people.
Earlier too, Rotary as an organisation had played an important role in India's polio eradication programme, and has since donated beds, medical refrigerators, facilitated the transportation of millions of vaccine doses and helped in the vaccination drive across the country.
Bob Blackman MP speaks during the event