Medical Oxygen for All

During the devastating second wave of COVID-19 that whipped through India in May, Project J1116NR ‘Medical Oxygen for All’ raised emergency funds to deliver medical grade oxygen concentrators, oxygen generators and ventilators to some of the most remote and rural towns of India, impacting around 10,000+ patients.

Now with cases numbers decreasing, the team at J1116NR have continued to work with local district administrative and health officials and have identified the urgent need for multi-support ambulances and emergency care in rural communities. In one region situated in India’s north-eastern most state, there are only seven working ambulances to provide help for 250,000+ individuals. That equates to approximately one vehicle per 35,000 people. Phase II of the Project will seek to strengthen the public health infrastructure in 10 regional districts, focusing more on strengthening the emergency care and first response areas. 

A pilot phase prioritised two particularly vulnerable districts, in need of life support ambulances due to; severe accessibility issues due to bad road conditions, low levels of industrial and economic activity, as well as poor human development indicators. J1116NR has partnered with ‘MapMyIndia’, an Indian technology company specialising in building digital map data and location based AI technologies. The ambulances are fitted with GPS technology, which can provide real time data to district administration and help track the usage and need for the ambulances.

Purchasing and donating these ambulances will be crucial in transporting critical patients in need of life support and care, enable COVID testing and immunisation programs in remote areas, provide outreach and awareness sessions to communities, pick up medical supplies and supplement village health and nutrition days.

Once learnings have been gathered from the pilot program, the project plans to purchase a minimum of 2 additional ambulances to continue supporting vulnerable communities...