The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said India must prioritise filling critical gaps in essential medical supplies and hospital capacities in its battle against the surge in COVID-19 cases while pledging oxygen concentrators, laboratory supplies and mobile hospitals for the country.
“The current rapid surge of COVID-19 cases has put immense pressure on the health systems, already overburdened since the start of the pandemic. We need to act with speed, expand hospital capacities and equip them with medical supplies, most needed to save lives,” said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO South-East Asia Region.
The WHO will be procuring laboratory supplies, including 1.2 million reagents, to help India meet the huge demand and need for testing in India. It will also be providing mobile field hospitals with a capacity of 20-30 beds, which can be increased to a maximum of 50.
Coronavirus updates | April 28, 2021
It is also chartering flights to bring 4,000 oxygen concentrators to help meet the increased demand for medical oxygen in the country. It has also repurposed 2,600 WHO technical staff working on various programmes to support pandemic response in the country.
