Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has rolled out Mission HO2PE in Bengaluru, as part of which patients and caregivers can request an oxygen concentrator by giving a missed call on 08068065385 and the Mission HO2PE team will assist with the request. As part of Mission HO2PE, HUL has partnered with KVN Foundation and home health care company Portea, to make oxygen concentrators available free of cost to patients in need in the city.
Once the requirement is validated, the concentrator will be delivered to the patient’s doorstep. A trained volunteer will also visit to help the patients and caregivers and assist them in managing the functions and operations of the oxygen concentrator.
The program is operating under a ‘borrow-return-use’ model. Post usage, the concentrators will be sanitised, serviced, and provided to the next set of people who need them, thus ensuring the concentrators reach the maximum number of people in need.
“The second wave of Covid has brought upon us a severe humanitarian crisis. The entire Unilever family is rallying together to support India in this moment of crisis by helping secure oxygen concentrators which are in severe short supply. We are hopeful that our partnership with Portea will help save the lives of people who are in dire need of medical oxygen as well as reduce the burden on medical infrastructure,” said Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, HUL.
The initiative is also being rolled out in cities such as Kolkata, Lucknow, Chennai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh etc. HUL will also be donating concentrators to hospitals in nearly 20 locations across India.
India is facing a severe shortage of O2 concentrators as the healthcare system continues to grapple with the deadly second wave of COVID-19. And through Mission HO2PE, HUL is said to have also airlifted over 5000 oxygen concentrators into India.
Meena Ganesh, co-founder and CEO, Portea Medical said, “Having treated over 4 lakh COVID patients over the last year, we understand the challenges posed by this pandemic. The second wave is unprecedented and has shown that there is an urgent need to treat patients with oxygen therapy and keep them out of the overflowing hospitals. In this regard, we are proud to partner with HUL and ensure access to medical oxygen for patients in their homes.”
Besides this partnership, HUL said it is facilitating as well as covering the cost for vaccination of around 300,000 people including those who work for suppliers, distributors as well as Shakti Ammas in rural areas. It has also set up isolation facilities across 30+ manufacturing units – most of them located in rural parts of India.