India's Battle Against COVID-19

This week the world saw a glimpse of what is happening in India: Photographs of mass cremations on rooftops, patients sleeping on the sidewalks outside of full hospitals, and people begging the world to send much needed aid, especially oxygen. How did COVID-19 surge so quickly in India and what can we do to help?

More questions than answers.
India is reporting record-breaking daily totals, roughly 300,000 COVID-19 cases per day. If the situation does not improve soon, there may be 500,000 cases per day by August. How did this happen? Even some experts are puzzled. Ramanan Laxminarayan, an epidemiologist at Princeton University, told Nature, “There was a public narrative that India had conquered COVID-19." With restrictions lifted, people may have relaxed into pre-pandemic behavior, including hosting and attending large events. Did variants play a role in the spread? Scientists are still assessing the data.

Women are on the frontlines.
Approximately 1 million women who are Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) have been posted to rural towns to stop the spread of COVID-19. They work long hours visiting families and battling pandemic disinformation. ASHA professionals are considered volunteers and their paltry salaries range from 2,000 rupees ($27) to 10,000 rupees ($135) per month. Finding or maintaining supplemental employment has been nearly impossible since the start of the pandemic. In August 2020, almost 600,000 ASHAs went on strike to plead for better pay. Dr. Smisha Agarwal, Research Director at the Johns Hopkins Global Health Initiative, told TIME, “They are the unsung heroes who are fighting to contain the unfettered spread of the virus in rural areas.”

Fighting global COVID-19 health disparities.
To date, high-income countries have purchased more than half of the global COVID-19 vaccine supply. The People's Vaccine Alliance claims that Canada has enough vaccines to "protect each Canadian five times." Wealthy nations like the U.S. that quickly produced effective COVID-19 vaccines are also embargoing those vaccines and related supplies. On April 16, the head of the Serum Institute in India (the world's largest vaccine manufacturer) asked President Biden to lift restrictions on raw materials needed for production. As of Monday, the Biden administration has changed course. According to Brookings, the U.S. will "export tens of millions of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine." Advocacy works!

Organizations in the U.S. and India are mobilizing to help. Some are focused on providing food and medical supplies, while others are fundraising for oxygen or advocating for more vaccines. There are several lists of suggested organizations (see: New York Times, CNN, and New York Magazine). Here are some options -

Overall Aid

The Indian Red Cross Society delivers medical supplies, in addition to managing other essential services, throughout India. Similarly, CARE provides hospital services, healthcare workers, and additional hospital beds.

Oxygen Donations
Airlink connects airlines with nonprofits that help communities in need. In this case, they ship oxygen and medical supplies across the country.

Food and PPE
A friend suggested supporting Bharath Abhyudaya Seva Samithi (BASS) on Global Giving. They provide food and hygiene kits to families in the Guntur and Prakasham Districts of Andhra Pradesh.