Plan International Canada is calling on Canadians to support its COVID-19 response in India, via a fundraising appeal launched today. Over the past few days India has seen over 300,000 new infections and more than 2,500 COVID related deaths, setting global records as one of the most pandemic-plagued countries in the world. Plan International Canada’s fundraising appeal will support efforts to reach children and their families in India, as well as frontline healthcare workers and health centres. 

“What’s happening in India right now is devastating and children desperately need our help,” says Lindsay Glassco, Plan International Canada’s president and CEO. “By giving to Plan International Canada, Canadians can directly support our emergency response in India to help stop the spread of this virus in communities and save lives. Donations are urgently needed.”

“Our response to COVID-19 includes meeting basic, life-saving needs, providing food, PPE and medical equipment, alongside awareness campaigns that reinforce prevention and vaccine information in communities,” says Dr. Tanjina Mirza, Chief Program Officer, Plan International Canada. “Donations to Plan International Canada will ramp up this urgently needed response.”

Donations to Plan International Canada’s appeal will:

• Reach hard-hit families with food aid
• Protect health workers by bolstering supply shortages of PPE (N-95 masks, gloves, body coveralls, etc.)  and vital equipment
• Set-up temporary COVID-19 care centres in hotspot areas, servicing poor and vulnerable communities across 20 districts
• Distribute hygiene kits filled with vital sanitation supplies
• Provide cash support for families who have lost their livelihoods through lockdowns
• Run mass awareness campaigns, messaging crucial prevention and vaccine information throughout at-risk areas.

Current situation in India

The coronavirus pandemic in India is hitting hard with cases rising. Lockdowns and curfews have been announced in many parts of the country and have seriously impacted the livelihoods of families, especially the poor and the marginalized. The food crisis is expanding, and poverty is deepening. Migrants and daily wage labourers are moving in the thousands back to their villages in response to lockdowns, heightening fears of further spread.

Oxygen and essential medicine are in short supply. Many hospitals are full and experiencing a shortage of beds and necessary intensive care facilities.

Over the last year, Plan International has reached over one million people as part of its COVID-19 response. This response program is now expanding to combat the current COVID-19 surge and Plan International has begun reaching affected families with cash transfers to meet immediate needs.