My name is Sanjiv Goyal, and as president of the IIT Delhi Excellence Foundation, I write to share an urgent message. Four months ago, I introduced the prime minister of India, Narender Modi to 17000 people at the IIT2020 event. Today I am pleading with everyone to support India.
A severe second wave of COVID-19 is sweeping across India, and the country’s healthcare system is overwhelmed. The number of new cases has crossed 327,000 per day, with the death toll crossing 2700 per day as of April 27. With more than 2.6 million active cases in the country, hospitals are struggling to accommodate new patients amid an acute shortage of hospital beds, ventilators, and oxygen. India needs help right away, and many people around the world are asking how they can help.
Our top priority is to quickly acquire oxygen concentrators and ship them to India to save lives. If you have the know-how or technology to generate oxygen, please send me a message. I will connect you with the right contacts on the ground. I have ordered 10 units, but we need 100,000+
Please help us make a difference and save lives. Please consider donating to support COVID-19 relief efforts in India. Through IITDEF, we are partnering with NGOs, with support from IIT alumni (a full list to be shared later). Please contribute, and share this link with others who are able to help, here: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=JEYDC9UPB4SUG
Here are three of the key COVID-19 initiatives we are working on as part of IIT Alumni Covid Response Team,
- Digital task force to create a nationwide database of plasma donors, hospital beds, and oxygen concentrators. You can help by sending information at https://forms.gle/jKwzWSpXDVawdG747.
- Volunteer on-call support team for COVID-19 patients (target size: 500). You can help by volunteering. The Call-in number has been set up at +91 804 804 0000; we have already recruited 150 volunteers.
- Consolidated list of oxygen concentrator vendors/resellers and oxygen suppliers. You can help by sending information about credible suppliers (please exercise due diligence) at https://forms.gle/jKwzWSpXDVawdG747.
My second request is to please call and check up on your friends in India. We need to support each other as we fight hard against this unprecedented pandemic.
I hope this message finds you well, and I encourage you to help in any way you can so that we can save lives in India. You are welcome to send DM or Instagram @sanjivgoyalfuturist
Thank you,
Sanjiv Goyal, IITDEF, President
