MUNICH, Germany — The Siemens Caring Hands e.V. charity is making a long-term contribution toward fighting the pandemic in India and is providing 100 oxygen concentrators to hospitals in Bengaluru, Goa and Chennai. The concentrators are to be delivered by mid‑June 2021 to facilitate the treatment of COVID-19 patients. India is one of the countries hardest hit by the corona crisis. The World Health Organization estimates that about 29 million people have contracted COVID-19 in India since the pandemic began and that about 350,000 of them have died.
“Globally, the pandemic has impacted human lives in an unprecedented way”, says Matthias Rebellius, Board Member Siemens AG and CEO Smart Infrastructure. “The many casualties in this Corona crisis in India are a humanitarian disaster. Siemens wants to make a significant contribution here to help as many people as possible. The oxygen concentrators draw in the ambient air and enrich the oxygen it contains. No further resources, such as gas cylinders, are required and patients can still be supplied with oxygen in the best way possible.”
Christian Kaeser, Chairman of Siemens Caring Hands adds: “With the donations made by Siemens AG and its employees, Siemens Caring Hands wants to provide help where it is needed most. I am very grateful that we can now make a substantial contribution with the oxygen concentrators that will relieve the burden on hospitals and facilitate treatment.”
In total, Siemens Caring Hands is donating €215,000 to Caritas international, which in turn is using these funds to make the oxygen concentrators available. Caritas India is helping to transport and distribute the equipment to the hospitals and will teach the medical personnel how to use the devices. “With the generous support of Siemens Caring Hands, we can make an even stronger contribution as part of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in India,” said Oliver Müller, International Director of Caritas Germany. “On behalf of our Indian partners, and especially on behalf of the patients whose suffering is alleviated by the oxygen concentrators, I would like to express my sincere thanks.”
Oxygen concentrators are in short supply worldwide. The concentrators continuously produce pure oxygen from the indoor air. These devices are currently an important component in the treatment of COVID-19 patients – in particular, in areas where hospital capacities are exhausted. Through Siemens AG’s supply chains, Siemens Caring Hands was still able to provide 100 large-scale units with a capacity of ten liters per minute for the Indian healthcare system. These devices are primarily needed for treating patients who are seriously ill and need large amounts of oxygen.
At the initiative of Siemens AG and with the support of Siemens Caring Hands, a COVID-19 relief fund was established in March 2020 to provide charitable support to people affected by the crisis worldwide. Siemens Caring Hands has been using the donations it receives to support specific charitable aid projects in corona hotspots like India. In addition, Siemens entities from all around the world have been making donations to provide additional aid: These funds will be used to provide medical kits and food to first-level treatment centers, to support hospitals with medical equipment and to provide food and hygiene kits to affected families. Furthermore, solutions that use solar power to enable hygienic use and reuse of face masks will be made available. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Siemens has donated around €3 million for India, and the company has committed to donating another €1.5 million.
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