The Nippon Foundation Donates 100 Oxygen Concentrators, Pulse Oximeters to Indian State to Help It Combat COVID-19

The Nippon Foundation has donated 100 oxygen concentrators and as many pulse oximeters to the state of Manipur in northeastern India to help it fight the South Asian country’s second wave of novel coronavirus infections.

At a ceremony in the state capital of Imphal on July 8, the 52 million-yen　(about $470,000) worth of equipment was handed over to Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare V. Vumlunmang by Dr Thangjam Dhabali, founder president of Manipur Tourism Forum (MTF), and Imphal Peace Museum director Haobam Joyremba on the foundation’s behalf.

Chief Minister Singh expressed his gratitude to The Nippon Foundation, noting that the equipment would be very helpful in dealing with the deadly waves of the pandemic prevailing in the state.

Currently, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Manipur is outpacing that of hospital beds available, requiring many patients to self-quarantine at home. Even though infections reported in the whole of India have been on the decline in recent weeks, those in the northeastern state are trending upward once again.

This has led many experts to predict a third wave of infections hitting that part of the country, underscoring the need to prepare.

Under these circumstances, The Nippon Foundation decided to donate 100 battery-operated oxygen concentrators－medical devices that compress oxygen from the air－that can be used during power outages, and 100 pulse oximeters, which can easily detect irregular blood oxygen levels, to help the state improve the quality of home medical care of COVID-19 patients.

The decision came as the foundation and its partner organization, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, came to realize how dire the infection situation is in Manipur through contacts with the MTF with which we worked together to establish the Imphal Peace Museum in June 2019 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Imphal between the Japanese army and Allied forces－one of the fiercest battles of World War II.

The Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society, an NGO based in India, and the MTF assisted us with local coordination with the state government.

Arranged by Kintetsu World Express and ANA Cargo, the equipment was shipped by air to Delhi, arriving on June 21, and from there was transported 2,500 kilometers by road to Manipur, arriving on June 29.

The Nippon Foundation and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation sincerely hope that the equipment will help the state of Manipur to improve home medical care service for COVID-19 patients to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.