Amazon, FB and others extend support for Covid relief efforts

New Delhi: Enterprises across the board -- including Facebook, Amazon, Oppo and Vivo -- are extending support in India's fight against COVID-19, donating oxygenators, breathing machines and ventilators amid the deadly second wave of the pandemic in the country.

Amazon India on Tuesday said it has procured 100 ventilators through its global resources to immediately import these into the country.

The company has worked with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to ensure the ventilators are of acceptable technical specification and carried out its own compatibility checks to immediately fund 100 units of the Medtronic (MT) device and bring them into India for urgent use.

Amazon, in a blog post, said it will work closely with MT for these units to be airlifted into India and the consignment is expected to reach in the next two weeks. Amazon India is working closely with the MoHFW appointed agencies to finalise the hospitals with the most urgent need so that Amazon can partner with MT for end-to-end delivery, installation, maintenance and training of personnel who will use these machines.

"We hugely appreciate the quick response from the MoHWF to help identify the most compatible models, expediting the shipment import into India and for coordination with agencies of MoHFW to allocate these where they are needed most.

"We are doing more and are committed to support our country in the fight against COVID-19," Amazon Global SVP and Country Head India Amit Agarwal said.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said the company is working with UNICEF and giving USD 10 million to emergency response efforts.

"I'm thinking of everyone in India and hoping we get this virus under control soon. Facebook is working with UNICEF to help people understand when they should go to the hospital and giving USD 10 million to emergency response efforts," he said in a post on the social media platform.

Oppo said it will donate 1,000 oxygenators and 500 breathing machines worth Rs 4.3 crore to the Indian Red Cross Society and the Uttar Pradesh government, and that these machines will be delivered to the hospitals where the need is highest.

Large organisations like Amazon and Paytm as well as startups have come forward to support the fight against the COVID pandemic.