India’s Covid-19 situation has rapidly worsened and is placing the country’s healthcare system under enormous strain: there is a desperate need for hospital beds, drugs, additional oxygen and protective equipment. India had over 20 million coronavirus cases by mid-May, a figure that is thought to be growing by more than 400,000 cases a day. Covid-19 also threatens the health and future of children. Launched with OP Financial Group’s support, the fund-raising effort is intended to help communities and healthcare workers, and to provide refuge for children, during the crisis.
“No country can avoid being affected by the pandemic’s impacts on public health and the economy until the spread of the virus is under control across the world,” states Outi Mikkonen, UNICEF’s Director of Corporate Collaboration.
“As India is ravaged by the global pandemic, we want to deliver on our corporate responsibility and help the Indian people during this humanitarian crisis. In addition to the suffering involved, prolongation of the world-wide pandemic would be a major setback for the globally integrated Finnish economy and Finnish businesses dependent on foreign trade,” says Timo Ritakallio, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of OP Financial Group.
With the help of fund-raising supported by OP Financial Group, UNICEF will provide hospitals with assistance such as additional oxygen for treating seriously ill patients and express test kits for diagnosis in the worst-hit areas. Alongside its partners UNICEF is seeking to ensure that the most vulnerable children and families continue to receive vital services – in addition to emergency aid – during the surge in coronavirus cases. OP Financial Group is donating 15,000 euros to the campaign.
UNICEF is supporting India’s healthcare system in cooperation with the Indian Government. UNICEF has so far supplied India with two million face masks, 200,000 surgical masks, thousands of units of oxygen therapy equipment, drugs, testing instruments and other emergency relief equipment. Together with the country’s education authorities, UNICEF has helped 12.3 million children to participate in distance education.