Gift of the Givers make progress in offering aid to India

Gift of the Givers has purchased 100 oxygen concentrators and are trying to buy more. Picture: Gift of the Givers (Facebook)

Gift of the Givers has purchased 100 oxygen concentrators and are trying to buy more. Picture: Gift of the Givers (Facebook)

Published May 3, 2021

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DURBAN - GIFT of the Givers is in discussion with a number of South African government departments, the Indian and German governments and a number of role players in South Africa and India, since they announced that they would be assisting India during its devastating second Covid-19 wave.

Since the start of April, India recorded more than 100 000 Covid-19 cases daily, a number that had quadrupled by the end of the month.

Since the announcement, Gift of the Givers has worked tirelessly to get the medical equipment needed in India.

The non-profit organisation was busy buying oxygen concentrators and already had 100. They also received a donation of 19 pulse oximeters. The organisation also prepared steroids, which would be sent to health-care facilities in need.

Gift of the Givers director Dr Imitiaz Sooliman said lots of discussions were taking place in the different parts of India. They were in discussions with the Indian government and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), which was also in discussion with the Indian government on their behalf.

“We had a discussion with the national Department of Health, Solidarity Fund, National Ventilator Group (NVG) and South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra), to consider registering the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure therapy) machines for export and international use,” said Sooliman.

“An urgent meeting to review this registration will take place on Tuesday. We are waiting for feedback from the Indian government on their decision, if they want the CPAP machines. There's 9 000 available immediately. If the Indian government agrees, they assured us that they too will fast-track the registration process in their country.”

Sooliman said they were also offering India a South African device called Oxero, which used 10-15 litres of oxygen per minute (low usage). The product was already registered for international usage, and was ideal for use when the casualty sections of the hospital get overrun.

He said they found that India did have an oxygen supply, but there was a challenge to get it to where it was needed. Therefore, they were tracing the companies that had oxygen, the transporters that could deliver and the organisations that managed the equitable distribution of oxygen tanks to homes and hospitals in terms of priority needs.

He said the German government would deliver an oxygen generator on Monday, and it would be installed at a 1 000-bed hospital in the week.

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