Manchester charity Human Appeal has launched an initial emergency response to the soaring death rates and severe oxygen shortages in India, as the country grapples with a devastating COVID-19 crisis.
New daily infections are in their hundreds of thousands, which is sadly reflected in the daily death tolls which have reached over 2,000.
Hospitals are unable to cope with demand and mass burial and cremation sites have sprung up across the country. Thousands of people are simply unable to get the care they need. With a severe shortage of medical supplies, an oxygen supply that would normally cost £6, already expensive for many Indian families, is now priced at over £100.
Human Appeal has committed £25,000 to their initial emergency response, and will be working to distribute oxygen cylinders, medical PPE and equipment, sanitiser, masks and food packs wherever they are most needed in Delhi and Lucknow.
The charity will also be distributing oxygen concentrators, which will be crucial to tackling the crisis and getting care to the greatest number of people. Unlike tanks and cylinders, concentrators draw their supply from the air around them, meaning they never run out and don’t need to be constantly refilled.
Dr Mohamed Ashmawey, Human Appeal CEO said:
“What is happening in India is a tragedy, and it would be impossible for Human Appeal to do nothing.
“The sight of mass graves and mass cremations is heart breaking and terrifying in equal measure. People need oxygen and they need it now. It cannot be right that people are having to turn to the black market and spend their life savings just to survive.
“I urge everyone, every organisation and every government to act now, to bring India back from the brink.”
