IT Correspondent
New Delhi, June 17:
The first tranche of 100 ventilators gifted by the US Government, was handed over by the US Ambassador to India, Kenneth I. Juster to the Indian Red Cross Society of India (IRCS) at a brief function held at IRCS’s national headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The consignment was received by IRCS Secretary General, R K Jain, from Juster and extended heartfelt thanks to the US Government for gifting the state of the art ventilators to assist India’s fight against COVID-19.
“The donation of ventilators is a reflection of solidarity and friendship between the USA and India. Thanks to the US Govt on behalf of the people of India, who will benefit from these 100 ventilators which can be used in an ICU, an air ambulance and Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances. Shortage of ventilators is felt all over the world and under the current circumstances, this donation is immensely helpful”, Jain said on the occasion.
These high-quality machines have been produced by Massachusetts-based Zoll Medical Corporation to respond to India’s needs in this time of crisis, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said.
The USAID has announced USD 5.9 million in funding for India to combat COVID-19, including USD 2.9 million to help the country provide care for the affected, disseminate essential public health messages to communities, strengthen case finding, contact tracing and surveillance, a USAID official had said last month at a briefing organised by the US Embassy in New Delhi.