List of countries helping India with COVID-19 supplies – from liquid oxygen to concentrators and tanks

These two weeks have seen the country struggle to cope up with the sudden spike in demand for oxygen – even though there is adequate oxygen production, the lack of coordination between the central government, state governments and hospitals has led to an acute crisis, forcing hospitals to send out SOS messages on social media.

Various countries have reached out to send supplies. Here’s what each country is doing to help India come out of the second wave of COVID-19:

While India has had difficulty getting the US to lift the ban on raw materials required for the Covishield vaccine, the Biden administration has finally buckled under pressure. It has announced that it will send rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Apart from this, the US also said that it has “identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India.”

The first batch with 318 oxygen concentrators has already reached India.

The United Kingdom has announced that it will ship over “600 pieces of vital medical equipment” to help India fight COVID-19.

This shipment will include 495 oxygen concentrators, 120 non-invasive ventilators, and 20 manual ventilators.

Singapore has donated four cryogenic oxygen tanks to India. They have been airlifted by the Indian Air Force.

Australia has announced that it will send oxygen, ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to India as part of an immediate support package.

Saudi Arabia is shipping 80 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen to India, in cooperation with the Adani group and British multinational company Linde.

India is in talks with the United Arab Emirates to airlift high-capacity oxygen tankers from the Gulf nation.

French President Emmanuel Macron has reached out to India. He said France is ready to provide support, but further details on the matter are not available yet.

German chancellor Angela Merkel announced that her country is preparing a “mission of support” for India, but the exact details about this support package are not known yet.

Russia is planning to send COVID-19 assistance including oxygen concentrators, generators, and drugs needed to treat the disease.

Russia had also announced that it would send 3,00,000-4,00,000 units of Remdesivir injection – an important drug that is currently in shortage across India. But it has run into patent issues with US-based drug maker Gilead Sciences, so India might not get it until the issue is resolved.

China has announced that it would provide support and help based on India’s needs, and talks are ongoing between the two countries’ officials in this regard.