NEW DELHI: Tech giant Google on Thursday said Google.org – its philanthropic arm – has announced a grant of Rs 113 crore (USD 15.5 million) to support procurement and installation of about 80 oxygen generation plants and upskilling of healthcare workers in rural parts of the country in partnership with various organisations.
Google.org will support procurement and installation of about 80 oxygen generation plants in healthcare facilities in high-need and rural locations with new grants of about Rs 90 crore (USD 12.5 million) to GiveIndia and about Rs 18.5 crore (USD 2.5 million) to PATH. It will also finance efforts of Apollo Medskills to help upskill 20,000 frontline health workers through specialised training in COVID-19 management and strengthen the stressed rural health workforce and rural health systems. Towards this, Google.org will make a Rs 3.6 crore (USD 500,000) grant to ARMMAN to run skilling programs for 180,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and 40,000 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) in 15 Indian states.
ARMMAN will also use the grant to set up a call centre to provide additional help and advice for ASHAs and ANMs where required. “As India slowly emerges from the crisis of the past few months, it’s been humbling and inspiring to see individuals, communities, institutions, and governments work together to manage the impact on a scale we haven”t experienced before. “Our focus at Google has been on making sure people have the information and tools they need to stay informed, connected, and safe,” Google India Country Head and Vice President Sanjay Gupta said. The company is broadening its COVID-19 support efforts to help strengthen India’s healthcare infrastructure and workforce — especially in rural areas, he told reporters in a virtual briefing. “With these new commitments, Google is proud to be supporting our partners as they build a bigger, better-equipped healthcare system, help India steady itself after the second wave, and lay the foundations for a sustainable and future-ready healthcare system,” he said.
These new commitments build on the Rs 135 crore (USD 18 million) funding that was announced by Google in April for COVID-19 response. These included two grants from Google.org, totalling Rs 20 crore (USD 2.6 million) to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses, and UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment.
