FOREIGN AID ALLOCATED TO STATES, UTS TO CURB COVID-19 SURGE, SAYS GOVT

letters@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI:

The Union health ministry on Tuesday said that aid received from other countries has been distributed in different states to help deal with the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

Based on the criteria and principles laid out by the ministry, depending on each state’s requirement, 24 different categories of items numbering nearly 4 million were distributed to 86 institutions in different states, the ministry said in a statement.

Major categories of equipment include BIPAP machines; oxygen (concentrators, cylinders, PSA Oxygen plants and pulse oximeters); drugs (Favipiravir and Remdesivir); and PPE (coveralls, N-95 masks and gowns).

Since grant in aid is limited in quantity, it has to be optimally utilized by allocating it to high burden states [states with higher number of active cases], where the requirement for such equipment/medicines is more, according to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for allocations.

Spreading such aid thinly each time over a large number of states may not bring forth the desired results, the ministry said, adding it will also lead to small packages travelling large distances, high turnaround times and possible wastage of resources.

The requirement of the high burden states in the context of number of persons admitted in hospitals and prior distribution done by the central government resources would also be considered.

Special focus can also be on states considered as medical hubs of the region, which have a patient in-flow from neighbouring states/cities.

In some cases, resource low states such as North Eastern and hill states where tankers etc don’t reach, can also be covered to shore up their needs, the ministry said.

The 31 states and UTS which have either received or where the equipment has been dispatched include -- Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Karnataka.