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US provides second shipment of 100 ventilators to India to help fight Covid-19
The first shipment of 100 ventilators was donated by the US government in June. These machines have been deployed to support the care of Covid-19 patients at the eight regional All India Institutes of Medical Sciences.
The US on Wednesday donated the second shipment of 100 ventilators to India to help in the country’s fight against Covid-19, saying it had fulfilled President Donald Trump’s commitment to provide critically needed supplies.
The US-made ventilators are compact and easy to deploy, and will provide India flexibility in treating patients. In addition to the ventilators, US Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding a package of support that includes warranties and additional supplies and components needed to operate the machines.
The first shipment of 100 ventilators was donated by the US government in June. These machines have been deployed to support the care of Covid-19 patients at the eight regional All India Institutes of Medical Sciences.
US ambassador Ken Juster said, “We are very pleased to hand over the final tranche of 100 ventilators to India, fulfilling President Trump’s commitment to provide these critically needed supplies to support India’s pandemic response.”
USAID is also working with the Indian government to enhance the capacity of health facilities using the ventilators by facilitating setup, orientation, and clinical training for healthcare personnel responsible for operating the machines.
USAID’s efforts have strengthened the India’s healthcare system’s readiness and response capacity in several states with a high burden of Covid-19 cases. As of August, a total of three million people in India have directly benefited from USAID support, said a statement from the US embassy.
USAID has also trained 40,700 health workers on best practices to integrate Covid-19 prevention and risk mitigation into essential health services, and 46,000 frontline workers on risk communication. It has provided 950 healthcare facilities with support to increase social distancing, infection prevention control, and patient management.
