How to help support COVID-19 relief in India

The pandemic still rages across the world.

A hard-hitting second wave of coronavirus has reached India, with the country reporting record pandemic numbers and 17.9 million total COVID cases. According to estimates reported by the New York Times, the country has had more than 201,000 deaths and identified at least 350,000 new cases every day this week.

These high numbers mean that hospitals are struggling to provide sufficient care for patients, seeking new sources for supplemental oxygen and personal protective equipment. Many are being turned away because of a lack of beds, dying outside crowded hospital doors. A slow vaccine rollout — due in part to global inequities in vaccine access as well as an inconsistent government response — has resulted in fewer than 10 percent of the population successfully vaccinated.

Just like last year, the crisis is galvanizing people online.

Journalist Mythili Sampathkumar started a crowdsourced thread of resources via Twitter, including fundraisers for individual oxygen tanks:

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Buzzfeed reporter Scaachi Koul shared a master Google Doc of organizations and individual fundraisers that are actively seeking donations for COVID-19 relief. The list was compiled by volunteers, including activist and user Riddhi Dastidar, and can be filtered by urgency of need, location, and the organization's ability to accept international donations.

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Here are a few other organizations facilitating COVID-19 relief efforts on the ground:

GiveIndia

The nonprofit collects and redistributes funds for medical services and equipment that provide supplemental oxygen to patients — things like oxygen generation plants, oxygen concentrators, and even the labor needed to refill oxygen tanks.

You can also start your own fundraiser for GiveIndia's COVID-19 Healthcare Heroes program.

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Americares

The Americares India team is providing needed medical supplies to facilities across the country from its base in Mumbai. The team has already distributed 6.6 million units of protective gear to healthcare workers and will continue to support the needs of workers on the ground.

Donations to the organization's COVID-19 fund will go directly towards these efforts, with a goal of $5 million.

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UNICEF

While UNICEF workers have been helping educate communities about containing the spread of COVID-19 since last year, current efforts are directed towards supporting the needs of emergency healthcare workers.

Donations made to UNICEF USA will go directly towards "delivering critical oxygen concentrators and diagnostic testing systems, hygiene supplies and PPE kits to protect health care workers," according to the organization.

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Direct Relief

The humanitarian medical aid organization pledged $5 million in emergency relief funds this week towards sourcing and distributing oxygen concentrators. You can earmark donations specifically for the organization's COVID-19 relief efforts. However, the drop-down menu only includes a general fund for COVID efforts, not one specifically geared at India relief.

CARE India

Since the start of the pandemic, the anti-poverty and empowerment nonprofit has collaborated with more than 100 organizations to provide COVID-19 relief. Donations fund PPE for hospitals, care facilities, and other medical facilities reopening to handle the second wave.

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Save Life Foundation

Indian community leaders in California's Bay Area partnered with the nonprofit Save Life Foundation and the Delhi government to raise funds for supplemental oxygen deliveries. Donations will specifically fund a delivery of more than 200 oxygen concentrators to facilities in need in Delhi. The initiative is also partnering with humanitarian organization Sewa International to facilitate donations outside of the capital.

Project HOPE

Project HOPE is a nonprofit supporting healthcare workers and emergency medical responses around the world. It's currently working with a network of civil society organizations across India to distribute additional oxygen tanks, ICU beds, PPE, and COVID decontamination units. The organization created an India-specific donation portal for those wanting to contribute to the team's efforts.

International Medical Corps

The international humanitarian organization is collecting donations for medical supplies — including oxygen concentrators, ventilators, patient monitors, PPE, and hygiene care — as well as funds to help set up temporary COVID isolation facilities across India. Current donations will go directly towards the organization's Emergency Response Team organizing these efforts on the ground.

GoFundMe Donation Hub

The donation website launched a centralized hub of fundraisers all verified by the company's Trust & Safety team to support people directly affected the second wave in India. Fundraisers include both individual campaigns and nonprofit fundraisers to provide oxygen, food, and medical supplies. According to a representative of GoFundMe, these fundraisers have already raised more than $2.1 million for on-the-ground relief efforts.

This story will be updated with more resources as they become available.

UPDATE: April 30, 2021, 12:56 p.m. EDT This story was updated to include additional relief campaigns.