USAID to fund 200 ventilators for India

USAID to fund 200 ventilators for India

The devices will arrive in May and June, but the final delivery schedule will be notified next week

19/05/2020, SUHASINI HAIDAR ,NEW DELHI

Timely aid: The ventilators were built for use in the U.S. but are now being ‘repurposed’ to India. Getty Images/iStockphoto3alexd

India will take delivery of 200 ventilators donated by the U.S. within the next month, government sources said on Monday.

The ventilators, which will be paid for by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will arrive in May and June and the final delivery schedule notified next week, the sources said.

While the government has not commented on the value of the donation, it is likely to be funded by an additional grant of $3 million that the USAID made last month.

In a statement on April 16, the U.S. government said the funds through USAID would help “mitigate the spread of COVID-19” and focus on financing healthcare access.

The ventilators, which were built for use in the U.S., are being “repurposed” for donations to several countries, including India.

Modi thanks Trump

“India has been a great partner to us for quite some time, and I’m encouraged here about the ventilators to India. It’s one of the several countries I noted that will be getting ventilators, because, you know, this President has done so well on ventilators — 100,000 [manufactured] in 100 days — that we are able to repurpose them and then send them around the world,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Saturday.

Thanking Mr. Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “More power to the India-US friendship. In such times, it’s always important for nations to work together and do as much as possible to make our world healthier and free from COVID-19.”

According to the Health Ministry, India has 18,855 ventilators for COVID-19 patients at present, while the government’s Empower group tasked with COVID-19 response said about 60,000 more had been ordered.

(With inputs from Bindu Shajan Perappadan)