GiveIndia’s India COVID Response Fund is active again

ALMOST a year to the date that we at GiveIndia set up our India Covid Response Fund (ICRF) to provide relief to the mammoth humanitarian crisis that unfolded when the pandemic first began, we are reopening the Fund and relaunching our Covid missions.

Sadly, our work in bringing relief to communities during the coronavirus crisis is not done, as cases and hospitalizations continue to soar in a devastating second wave of Covid-19. 

But this time round, it is the runaway disease that is causing the primary distress, rather than the measures to control it – like the socio-economic emergency the lockdown triggered 12 months ago. We have launched India COVID Response Fund – 2 to bring our collective humanity together and raise funds for the most pressing needs caused by the current situation.

Cries for help

With the memory of last year’s shortages in the health infrastructure still fresh in people’s minds – and Covid cases nearly three times the peak of the first wave – we have received cries for help from many we had supported, including charitable hospitals, healthcare NGOs and other nonprofits giving humanitarian aid. 

Grim statistics such as one person dying of Covid-19 complications every three minutes in Maharashtra are heart wrenching. This has propelled us into launching a mission to support an overwhelmed health infrastructure where patients are scrambling for beds, oxygen and recommended medicines to treat coronavirus infection. Plus, health workers themselves are severely affected trying to not only deal with a deluge of patients but also to protect themselves and their families from falling sick.

With this mission we will be raising funds for healthcare NGOs to collaborate with state governments to quickly put up Covid care centres in Delhi and other badly affected metros and fill some gaps in oxygen supply in hospitals. And for PPE kits, N-95 masks and sanitisers for our exhausted healthcare heroes.

Widespread hunger

As part of India Covid Response Fund – 2 we have also reactivated our mission to provide meals and ration kits to communities who are struggling to make ends meet. 

A recent report by think tank using World Bank data suggests that poverty in India has doubled thanks to the economy slumping into a deep recession after the first wave of the pandemic. 

With the current crisis creating fear and uncertainty among this vulnerable populace, whose earning has been irregular over the last year, NGOs are now reporting widespread hunger and the need to feed families and stop the calamitous consequences of malnutrition among both children and adults.

Join us to support the vulnerable

So as we kickstart India COVID Response Fund – 2 with support from a Steering Committee and 16-member Advisory Board to provide complete transparency, we are looking at you to come forward and donate or join this giving collective.

Last year, by October 2020 with generous participation from individual donors, philanthropic foundations and corporate houses alike, we raised ₹220 crore which served 56 lakh Indians in their hour of need. Let’s come together again to fight the second wave of this deadly virus, flatten and curve and help our fellow citizens through this difficult time.

Organisations who would like to contribute or join ICRF – 2 can get in touch here. You can also donate to the Health Mission or the Food Mission.

Stay masked, get vaccinated and stay safe.

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Established in 2000, GiveIndia is India’s most trusted giving platform for donors. Our community of 1.5M+ donors and 150+ corporate partners have supported 2,000 nonprofits, impacting 10M+ lives across India.