COVID-19: Oxygen for Bangalore and rural areas

This project was initiated by Vinay Kumar who is working on ground in Bangalore helping to set up makeshift hospitals in cooperation with the city andministration (BBMP) and a local NGO (Project Smiles Trust) together with Monja M., Christin H. and Franziska W. from Technik ohne Grenzen in Germany https://www.teog.ngo

India is currently battling a dangerous and highly infectious second wave of the corona virus with close to 19 million confirmed cases and a death toll of 2,09,581 as of April 30, 2021.

Several cities in India are witnessing record numbers of cases on a daily basis. On April 30, Bangalore saw a single day spike of almost 27,000 cases. With nearly 260,000 active cases, Bangalore has become the district with the highest active caseload in the country.

These record spikes have led to overcrowded hospitals and a severe shortage of supplies (including oxygen cylinders and oxygen concentrators). Hospitals have been struggling to meet the demand for oxygen and in several cases have turned away patients who were in critical condition resulting in a record number of deaths as people wait for admissions outside hospitals or try to find help elsewhere.

In the midst of this crisis, we are working with the local NGO Project Smile Trust and  the city’s municipal administration to convert multiple buildings into primary care centers. These centers will cater to patients with mild symptoms of covid19 who may require oxygen support and try to save the lives of those waiting for hospitalisation. For this we are especially focussing on procuring Oxygen Concentrators.

As no equipment is available in India, all funds will be routed to Technik ohne Grenzen in Germany who will be procuring the equipment locally and flying it out.

In addition to the concentrators we will procure: 

Pulse oximeters
Thermometers
FFP2/N95 masks 
Nasal cannulas
Oxygen masks

The situation is in general very dynamic and possibilities and donations change constantly.  In the unlikely case that we will raise more money than we can spend on oxygen concentrators, we will use the funds helping people affected by COVID in India in any way possible. 

(picture courtesy PTI)