US Chamber of Commerce sends aid to help India fight Covid 2.0

Washington, May 5: The Global Task Force on Pandemic Response, a newly-formed public-private partnership formed by the US Chamber of Commerce with nearly 40 tech giants on board, on Wednesday announced to start sending crucial aid to address the grim Covid situation in India.

Supported by the non-profit Business Roundtable, the Task Force will coordinate a coalition of corporations, non-profits and individual efforts to organise 1,000 Medtronic ventilators (to be delivered to India starting Wednesday), 25,000 oxygen concentrators scheduled to be delivered by the end of May (thousands already delivered) and offer practical guidance on supporting employees in India via a network of human resources.

Medtronic will manufacture the ventilators and handle end-to-end shipping, installation and ongoing and virtual training.

The Task Force said in a statement that it is working with the Chamber's US-India Business Council and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum towards helping India.

"The Global Task Force is working in close collaboration with the US and Indian government officials to share information and coordinate efforts. This includes regular briefings with the Narendra Modi and Joe Biden administrations, US Congress, US State Department and the US Agency for International Development," the statement added.

The Global Task Force on Pandemic Response was launched last month to provide a unified platform for businesses to mobilise and deliver resources to assist Covid control efforts in areas of the highest need around the world.

The initial efforts will focus on the pressing need for support in India.

"What we are witnessing in India is a stark reminder that while the US has turned a corner in our efforts to combat the pandemic, our global partners are facing a staggering health crisis that requires a substantial public-private response," Suzanne Clark, President and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, had said in an earlier statement.

The coalition of leading companies and associations that have come together to support the cause includes Accenture, Adobe, Amazon, American Express, Apple, Citi, Dell, Deloitte, Facebook, FedEx, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Mastercard, Microsoft, Pfizer, Qualcomm Foundation, VMware, and Walmart, among others.