London — The British Asian Trust, a Prince of Wales’ Charity, has launched an emergency appeal ‘Oxygen For India’ to aid the deepening Covid-19 crisis in India. Rates of Covid-19 cases and deaths in India are rising at a hugely alarming pace, with India setting new world records for the daily rise in number of cases. India’s hospitals are overrun, have stopped admitting patients and are running low on vital supplies and equipment including oxygen, leaving people helpless as they watch their loved ones die on stretchers outside the hospital doors.

British Asian Trust’s ‘Oxygen For India’ emergency appeal will raise funds for oxygen concentrators, and together with local partners in India, will rapidly deploy them to the hospitals and patients that need them most. Having consulted with the Indian and UK governments, the British Asian Trust’s advisors and programme partners in India have outlined a package of support that will compliment what industry, government and other charities are doing to help. All funds raised by the ‘Oxygen For India’ emergency appeal will go towards providing as many oxygen concentrators to hospitals as quickly as possible. Oxygen concentrators are alternate devices to oxygen cylinders – while cylinders contain a finite amount of oxygen supply, a concentrator continually recycles oxygen from the air and delivers it to the patient.

Hitan Mehta, Executive Director, British Asian Trust, said, “We have seen the terrible impact of the pandemic worldwide but the devastation in India currently is one of the worst points of the last 12 months. The astronomical numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths in India are frightening and we fear there is still a peak to come. What we can do now is provide essential support as quickly as possible to help those most in need. Our ‘Oxygen For India’ emergency appeal has been set up to provide vital supplies and equipment to save lives. We simply cannot stand by and do nothing.”

British Asian Trust ambassadors, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Nitin Ganatra and Isa Guha, have supported the launch of the appeal on social media.

The appeal is also supported by Sunrise Radio, Here & Now 365, and news channel NDTV 24×7.

‘Please give generously’

Actor and British Asian Trust ambassador Nitin Ganatra shared his thoughts on Twitter: “Devastating scenes in India where people are dying in the streets due to Covid-19, please take a look at the British Asian Trust’s emergency appeal. Please share. #OxygenForIndia Please give generously.”

Tony Lit MBE, Managing Director, Sunrise Radio said: “It is crucial that we work together to do whatever we can to support India in this time of national crisis. The pandemic is destroying Indian families and communities and we must do everything to help and support them as quickly as possible. I am proud that Sunrise Radio is partnering with the British Asian Trust to launch the Oxygen For India emergency appeal and alongside Here & Now 365 and NDTV 24×7 we will be donating substantial advertising space across radio and television to help raise the vital funds required to support those most in need in India.”

Manish Tiwari, Managing Director, Here & Now 365, added, “This is a vital appeal to provide emergency support to those in India suffering the most during one of the worst periods of
the pandemic. Working alongside Sunrise Radio and NDTV 24×7 we hope to raise as much awareness and funds as possible to support the British Asian Trust’s Oxygen For India appeal.”

Donate to the Oxygen For India emergency appeal now. Make a donation and be part of the collective effort to get oxygen to those who need it urgently.

If you are giving up to £100 you can have it doubled by following the instructions here: https://givematch.com/causes/british asian-trust-uk

If you are giving more than £100, please donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/indiacovidappeal

If you want to give more than £10,000 please call Colman Cawe, Director of Fundraising on 07496 131 665.