The uphill battle against Covid19 has taken new shapes and forms in its second wave. Uttar Pradesh on 23rd April (Friday) reported 37,328 daily cases and 199 deaths – the highest ever in the state. The sharp surge in Covid cases and their medical needs have put our healthcare system in severe stress.

The raging pandemic has left homes, hospitals, and cremation grounds exhausted and overwhelmed. It will worsen as per estimates by Michigan Univ. that predicts a several times rise in the daily figure by the end of May. People are in dire need of oxygen. The demand for oxygen has spiked and its price has shot up unprecedently. People are forced to sought oxygen from black markets at obscene prices that they cannot afford.

Following directions from doctors who are currently at the frontlines of Covid resistance RightWalk believes that Oxygen Concentrators can be a viable option after oxygen cylinders. They are medical devices that concentrate oxygen in the air by removing undesirable gasses to supply an oxygen-enriched gas stream. Unlike cylinders that requisite frequent refilling, oxygen concentrators lasts for months.

They can provide Covid outpatients with mild to moderate symptoms of hypoxemia, and comorbidities like Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), etc. a chance to, at best, recover from homes, or at worst, buy time before they burden hospitals that are now overflowing with patients.

With finances strained due to Covid, many people struggle to feed their families. On this Covid wave, we focus on sustaining the lives of people and Ration Distribution is a significant part of it.

PROCUREMENT
We are looking to procure 100 Oxygen Concentrators and are in conversation with several suppliers to procure them. Acumen Fellow Nitesh Jangir is helping us in overseas procurement. Each high flow oxygen concentrator costs Rs. 85,000 and can treat and save the lives of up to 550 patients with a severe or critical illness.

Each low flow concentrator costs Rs 55,000 and can treat and save the lives of up to 900 patients with mild to moderate illness. Each unit can be reused several times over for several months and can be used even after Covid. The total cost of 100 low flow units stands at Rs 55 Lakhs and high flow units at Rs 85 Lakh.

For rations, RightWalk has collaborated with supermarket chains in the country to procure pre-made ration kits constituting essential groceries to sustain a family of five for 15 days.

PROCESS
RightWalk has physical presence in eleven districts in U.P where Covid has spread like wildfire – Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Meerut, Prayagraj, Noida, Bareilly, and Moradabad. We plan to keep 10 units of Oxygen Concentrators in each district and offer it to people in need free of cost.

Each concentrator can be reused over and over. We may redistribute the number of concentrators across districts depending upon the case load. We will hold camps in urban slums and nearby rural areas that will witness a surge in cases within days.

For ration distribution, our team was present on the ground to identify communities and distribute kits to the needy. The packages were delivered in bulk at distribution sites and then given away to families on a first-come-first-serve basis.

IMPACT
Saving 50,000 to 90,000 lives through Oxygen Supply and keeping deprivation and hunger at bay through Ration kits.

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