From Shopian to Ernakulam and Gir to Tuensang, your donations helped India breathe

When the second wave of the pandemic was wreaking havoc in India, Swasth Digital Health Foundation along with ACT Grants had pledged to procure 50,000 oxygen concentrators to strapped healthcare centres in the country. In partnership with Milaap, South Asia’s largest fundraising platform, Amazon had committed to crowd fund and support Swasth and ACT Grants in this mission.

Thanks to generous donations from you, this mission has been achieved in record time. Your response to our call for supporting our mission to save lives was overwhelming. We thank you once again for showing such generosity during these testing times. The precious oxygen concentrators that you helped us procure with your donations have already been deployed at public hospitals and health facilities caring for COVID-19 patients across countless districts and local municipalities of more than 24 states in India.

Reiterating the fact that Amazon remains committed to scale India’s fight against COVID-19, Amit Agarwal, Global SVP and Country Head, Amazon India, says, “Our crowdfunding initiative with Milaap enabled us to distribute 50,000 oxygen concentrators to underserved healthcare facilities and impact 1 million lives across the country. It’s heartening to see the support we’ve received and we’d like to say a big Thank You to everyone who helped us reach here. We will continue doing our bit and explore every meaningful way to help India through this pandemic.”

Healthcare centres in the little town of Alirajpur in Madhya Pradesh were grappling with the shortage of oxygen cylinders and the growing number of COVID-19 patients till recently. But not anymore. Thanks to you, 10 oxygen concentrators have been donated to community health centres in the area. Also, thanks to you, 45 oxygen concentrators have been delivered to local healthcare centres of Gir Somnath district in Gujarat, 198 to Kerala’s Ernakulam district, and 64 to Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, all of which are helping to save the lives of critical patients in these regions.

Similarly, 15 oxygen concentrators have reached the remote district of Tuensang in Nagaland, 10 each have reached the hilly terrains of the Shopian and Pulwama districts of Kashmir, and 150 precious concentrators have reached the Indian Ocean communities living in South Andaman.

We could save thousands of lives battling with COVID-19 thanks to donors who stepped forward with their contributions from the length and breadth of the country, as well as those living abroad. Your generous donations helped us get much-needed oxygen concentrators for even the remotest parts of the country. We can’t thank you enough for standing by our side in this hour of need.

Says Abu Metha, Adviser to the Chief Minister of Nagaland, “We appreciate the humanitarian gesture by ACT Grants and Swasth Digital Health Foundation.” Metha’s sentiments are echoed by Mmhonlumo Kikon, Advisor, IT, Science and Technology, NRE, State Government of Nagaland, “My gratitude to ACT Grants and Swasth Digital Health Foundation for the generosity shown towards Nagaland by donating hundreds of oxygen cylinders and concentrators for all the districts!” Kikon adds, “The items have reached the office of the CMOs.”

The public relations office at Jansampark Alirajpur, State Government of Madhya Pradesh, has also expressed gratitude for having received oxygen concentrators for local community health centres treating Covid-19 patients. Several government organisations and grassroots NGOs have shared similar messages of gratitude for the timely help in saving lives.

“We have received 90 oxygen concentrators from Swasth, which we are using to strengthen the capacity of small government hospitals in Karnataka, Assam, Odisha and Maharashtra,” says HA International, an Indian organisation that works globally on disaster response and development projects. Adds Tirtha Prasad Saikia of the North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), a local organisation running an oxygen bank programme, “Thank you for supporting our mission!” NEADS has supplied oxygen concentrators to Jorhat, Golaghat and Sivasagar districts of Assam. The British Asian Trust’s #OxygenforIndia appeal, partnered by Swasth, has also received huge donations from all quarters.

“When the country was grappling with the peak of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, our partnership with Amazon did certainly help to accelerate COVID-19 relief work. The fundraiser page went live on May 2nd and within 60 days, 5.2 Crore was raised. It is reassuring to witness the importance and power of collective actions, thanks to the generous outpouring of global solidarity resulting in 9900+ donors impacting 1 million lives,” said co-founder and President Anoj Viswanathan, Milaap

The 50,000 oxygen concentrators have boosted the medical resources available to local hospitals and primary health centres across India. They are also being used to treat outpatients, reducing the load on already stressed hospital beds and easing the anxiety of patients and their families.

Donors like you have helped make this huge mission a success. You came forward when the nation needed you and donated as much as you could. We can’t thank you enough for your contributions, but we can salute you for your timely help.