Let us who can, do all we can.

The second wave of Covid-19 has brought with it devastation unseen in India’s living memory. Many among us expected a second wave, but not the calamity that we see today.

What the nation needs now is joint, definitive action by all citizens. Those among us who are fortunate enough to still be able to help, should look at ways and means by which we can address the capacity issues that have hit our healthcare system.

We should try to ensure we are able to reach quick support to those that need it today. And also ensure that we are prepared for another wave if god forbid, that were to happen. Let us ensure we are not caught on the wrong foot again.

At the very forefront of this war against Covid are medical institutions — hospitals, Primary & Community Health Centers, nursing homes, clinics, NGOs (providing frontline Covid relief), Vaccination Centers and Home Care Providers.

 The objective is to fund and develop these institutions based on their immediate and long-term needs — to increase their capacity to effectively attend to Covid patients, vaccinate the population or other emergencies that may arise in the future.

 Funds will be granted to provide them immediate relief in terms of medical supplies and equipment — like oxygen concentrators, multi-para monitors, ICU beds, ventilators, humidifiers etc. and strengthening their infrastructure for the medium term — by increasing their capacity, whether it is adding to the ICU beds or providing the expensive equipment like echocardiograms. 

To fund 300 institutions at an average of Rs.25 lakhs each. Assuming that they serve an average of 10,000 patients a year, this assistance will have a positive impact on over 3 million patients.

While immediate requirements are an urgent need, we will assess the long term requirements that India will require to be prepared to manage this disease over the next two years. In that respect we will be working on:

• ·Emergency assistance grant like food & relief material for extremely poor families  with a cap of Rs. 5 lakh with a total cap of Rs. 1 crore. We could fund around 20 to 30 institutions through this route. This is primarily to provide food and relief material for extremely poor family members of patients who accompany them to the hospital.
• ·Medical equipment and consumables for immediate covid relief assistance — 30% of the budget may be allocated for this requirement.
• Strengthen infrastructure facilities of the institutions to handle the current pandemic and any medium-term requirements. These may be physical infrastructure like extension of wards, waiting areas, Covid testing and vaccination centres, oxygen generation plant, major equipment etc. Physical infrastructure projects and procurement equipment etc. will be undertaken by the institutions. We will only monitor and provide guidance if necessary. In exceptional cases will we undertake this on behalf of the institution.
• Covid testing and vaccination centres: We will allocate Rs. 5 crore towards supporting testing and providing free or subsidized vaccination by institutions.