May 2, 2021 - World

Foreign aid pours into India as COVID-19 crisis worsens

Ivana Saric

Medical supplies being loaded into a cargo plane headed to India, at Roissy airport, north of Paris. Photo: Lewis Joly / POOL / AFP via Getty Images

Countries around the world are sending supplies and aid to India to help the country fight its COVID-19 outbreak, currently the world's worst.

Why it matters: Hospitals are running out of supplies, crematoriums are burning around the clock, and experts are increasingly concerned about the presence of a new variant in India.

The United States: Last Wednesday the White House announced it would send $100 million worth of aid to India, including 15 million N95 masks, 1 million rapid diagnostic tests, and an initial delivery of 1,100 refillable oxygen cylinders.

These supplies will be delivered in six shipments to India. A third of those deliveries arrived in New Delhi Sunday, per the New York Times.

The United Kingdom: The British government announced in a statement Sunday that it would be sending 1,000 more ventilators, on top of what it promised last week, which included 200 ventilators, 495 oxygen concentrators and 3 oxygen generation units.

France: France's Indian embassy announced Sunday the arrival of France's first cargo flight of aid materials, containing 28 tons of medical equipment.

Included are eight oxygen generators, each of which can supply 250 patients. It also includes 28 ventilators and 200 electric syringe pushers.
The statement notes that a second shipment of aid is being planned currently.

Germany: A German plane carrying 120 ventilators and a team of 13 medical experts reached India Saturday, per Deutsche Welle.

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Foreign aid pours into India as COVID-19 crisis worsens

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