Following the drastic surge of COVID-19 cases in India this month, Ghanaians have, in a gesture of brotherliness, donated medical grade 150 oxygen concentrators to needy hospitals in the populous Asian country.

These equipment are being shared among 30 health facilities in rural areas across 14 different states/regions of India.

Additionally, seven units of 10-litere Oxygen concentrators are being presented by the government of Ghana to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, through the Ghana High Commission in New Delhi.

This gesture makes Ghana the first African country to have attempted such an initiative.

An Oxygen concentrator is a device that concentrates the oxygen from a gas supply by selectively removing nitrogen to supply an oxygen-enriched gas stream.

Medical oxygen becomes essential for the treatment of COVID-19 patients whose cases are classified as severe.

Mr Amar Deep S. Hari, the Chief Executive Officer of IPMC, who commissioned the items on a virtual platform for distribution from India’s famous mosque Dargah Nizamuddin in New Delhi, India, expressed his gratitude to Ghanaians for the assistance.

“This gesture is mainly to show that Ghanaians from Africa are thinking of our Indian brothers and sisters and keeping their wellbeing in our prayers,” he said.

Prior to the second wave of COVID-19, Ghana had become one of the first recipients of the Indian-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines under WHO’s COVAX programme.

Having benefitted from such a facility, the present initiative serves as a gesture of gratitude from Ghanaians to the government and people of India.

Indians in Ghana were impressed with the prompt offer of help, which came from all quarters of Ghanaians – teachers, doctors, students, drivers, businessmen and women or government employees – each of who contributed to the best of their abilities.

It shows the deep roots of friendship that exists between the two communities since independence.

Some expatriates of other countries living in Ghana also participated in the noble cause.

It is to be noted that earlier, Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had pledged the services of Ghanaian doctors and nurses to India in case such resources got required at any time.

Dr Samuel Thomas, an India physician from a community hospital of Tamil Nadu state, expressed his gratitude to Ghanaians for the timely donation, which, according to him, would go a long way in treating critically ill patients.

Dr Nikhil Sharma from District hospital Himachal Pradesh wrote in appreciation of the gesture that: “Some angels from Africa are assisting to save lives in far off India and we will ever remain grateful to them for this gesture”.

His hospital has benefitted from 10 units of Oxygen concentrators.

Back home, Mr Frank Adu Jnr, a former Managing Director of CalBank Limited, said Ghanaians were deeply touched by the plight of their siblings, hence their decision to support them with Oxygen concentrators.

He further added that the COVID-19 catastrophe knows no boundaries, and urged Ghanaians to continue to abide by the safety protocols and ensure they do not see another wave in the West African country.

Meanwhile, a CNN report indicates that India reported 196,427 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, 25 May, the lowest single-day rise in cases since April 14.

This marks a decline from the first week of May, when the country was reporting more than 300,000 cases daily. 

The country also reported 3,511 fatalities on Tuesday, the lowest single-day death toll since May 4.

On Monday, India became the third country to top 300,000 deaths from the virus, after Brazil and the United States. 

India has reported a total of 26,948,874 COVID-19 cases, including 307,231 deaths.

There are 2,586,782 confirmed active cases in the country, according to the health ministry.