From medical oxygen to oxygen concentrators, medical supplies and vaccines- India has been at the forefront in providing these medical supplies to countries struggling with Coronavirus.
During the second wave of Covid-19, India was hard hit during May-June and faced shortage of medical oxygen and other medical supplies. Many developed countries including the US, UK, Germany, and Australia came forward with medical help.
Developing and emerging countries like Mexico, Indonesia, and Bangladesh; and even smaller nations like Mauritius, Kuwait and Bahrain rushed with emergency supplies to India.
India was quick to recover from the second wave. With record vaccination and effective lockdowns, India not only successfully curbed Covid-19 but the country went ahead to reciprocate the help it received during the time of crisis.
India has been at the forefront in providing aid to countries hit due to Covid-19 including Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and many others.
Though the Indian government’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with countries in the region and has been at the forefront of numerous humanitarian missions spanning the entire extent of the Indian Ocean including South, South East Asia and East Africa.
Here is how India became self sufficient and went ahead to help countries with medical supplies:
Becoming Self-sufficient
India has administered more than 67 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine which is around twice than that of US. Most of the vaccines that were administered were Covishield and Covaxin- both indigenously produced in the country. India’s rapid vaccination coverage together with Covid curbs help the country to ward off the fear of fresh wave of infections.
From setting of oxygen plants to building new Covid-19 hospitals, India went ahead with rapid increase in health infrastructure. Right after the second wave, India’s DRDO helped in setting hospitals in four states. Similar oxygen generation plants were setup across hospitals in many states.
Medical AID to Countries
Vietnam
India delivered 100 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) and 300 oxygen concentrators to Vietnam to help the southeast Asian country battle Covid-19. INS Airavat, an indigenously built landing ship tank based in Visakhapatnam under India’s Eastern Naval Command, was deployed to southeast Asia for trans-shipment of Covid-19 relief material.
Thailand
India is also helping Thailand to fight against Coronavirus and has provided the country will 300 oxygen concentrators to deal with the pandemic. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Airavat arrived in Thailand on Friday with a consignment of 300 oxygen concentrators sought by the Thai government to deal with the covid-19 pandemic. INS Airavat docked at Sattahip port with the oxygen concentrators, a statement from the Indian Navy said.
Sri Lanka
India has sent about 150 tonnes more oxygen to Sri Lanka to help the island nation combat the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka is witnessing a Covid spike and there is a mounting pressure on the healthcare system. During April-May last year, India had provided 26 tonnes of essential medical supplies to the neighboring country. India has also provided vaccine this year to Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh
India has provided two mobile medical oxygen plants to Bangladesh to support the country’s fight against Coronavirus. The medical oxygen plants were manufactured by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Earlier, an “Oxygen Express” train with 200 MT liquid medical oxygen was sent to Bangladesh.
Indonesia
Indonesia, which was grappling under Covid-19, was provided 300 oxygen concentrators and 100 MT of liquid medical oxygen by India. When India was reeling under the severe second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in May, Indonesia had sent 1,400 oxygen concentrators to the country through the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS).
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