UPS Foundation Commits to Spending $1 Million to Fight COVID-19 in India
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The UPS Foundation announced a $1 million commitment to fight the COVID-19 surge in India. The combination of emergency funding, in-kind transportation movements and technical expertise is intended to provide urgent relief, as well as strategic support.
“The UPS Foundation is committed to improving the well-being of communities impacted by COVID-19 and we want to help alleviate the suffering in India by leveraging our partnerships, our resources and our logistics expertise,” UPS Foundation President Nikki Clifton said in a statement.
UPS says it is working with a wide variety of strategic partners, including UNICEF, CARE, The Salvation Army, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, MAP, Medshare, Rotary Club, the U.S. Chamber Foundation and others to mobilize critical medical supplies including oxygen concentrators, ventilators, nebulizers, respiratory supplies, personal protective equipment, COVID-19 test kits and antiviral medications to India.
The UPS Foundation also is providing emergency funding to The Salvation Army and CARE. CARE is supporting the health system of the state of Bihar in India, including activation of two temporary COVID-19 care centers with five intensive care centers to follow. In addition, The Salvation Army dollars will fund oxygen concentration facilities in hospitals to increase their capacity to treat the most serious cases. Shipments began arriving in India May 3 and will continue for the foreseeable future.
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As COVID-19 spreads in India, UPS employees, including Jackson Carter, director of international airfreight at UPS Global Freight Forwarding, say they want to help. Carter is part of a team coordinating shipments of supplies across India.
“We use the phrase ‘delivering what matters,’ ” Carter said. “If they don’t have these supplies, this virus is going to keep spreading. Every pallet we move is another way to fight this pandemic.”
The UPS Global Freight Forwarding team, in coordination with The UPS Foundation, has moved 5,000-plus oxygen concentrators to various locations across India with Sewa International and UNICEF.
UPS Global Freight Forwarding has also moved pallets of respirator equipment destined for hospitals, remote villages north of Mumbai and areas in the state of Gujarat along India’s western coast. “Our hearts go out to the people of India during these tough times,” UPS Global Freight Forwarding President Romaine Sequin said. “We’ll always be ready to lend a helping hand.”
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