They were originally made for use in the U.S. but are being “repurposed”
India will take delivery of 200 ventilators donated by the United States within the next month, government sources said in New Delhi on Monday.
According to the sources, the ventilators, which would be paid for by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will arrive in May and June in two instalments, and a final schedule of delivery will be notified next week.
While the government has not commented on the total value of the donation from the U.S., it is likely to be funded by an additional grant of $3 million that USAID had made last month. In a statement on April 16, the U.S. government said the funds through USAID would help “mitigate the spread of COVID-19” and focus on financing healthcare access.
The ventilators, which were originally built for use in the United States, that has seen more than 1.5 million cases of COVID-19, are being “repurposed” for donations to several countries, including India.
“India has been a great partner to us for quite some time, and I’m encouraged here about the ventilators to India. It’s one of the several countries I noted that will be getting ventilators, because, you know, this President has done so well on ventilators — 100,000 [manufactured] in 100 days — that we are able to repurpose them and then send them around the world,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Saturday, responding to a question about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tweet that the U.S. would donate the ventilators and “stand with India and PM Narendra Modi during this pandemic”.
India has seen nearly 1,00,000 cases of the Coronavirus, with about 56,000 active cases and more than 3,000 deaths.
It is unclear whether the ventilators donated by the U.S. came in response to a specific request from India. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has 18,855 ventilators available for COVID-19 patients at present, while the government’s Empower group tasked with COVID-19 response said about 60,000 more have been ordered. On May 15, Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan said about 0.45% of COVID-19 patients in India are on the ventilator.