At a function in the Raj Nivas held on Tuesday, the Club of French Entrepreneurs in Pondicherry (CEFP), handed over ₹2.50 lakh worth of Covid containment resources to the Health Department.
French Consul General Lise Talbot Barre handed over the aid to T. Arun, Health Secretary. Telangana Governor and Lt. Governor for Puducherry Tamilisai Soundarajan joined in virtually from the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad.
The French Consulate said that, the aid was mobilised by the 5,000-strong French community in Puducherry in response to the call by French President Emmanuel Macron. French President had given the call to deploy a massive solidarity mission to support India, with the goal of not only providing immediate medical relief but also boosting India’s strategic autonomy in healthcare.
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Consul General Lise Talbot Barre said, “We stand by India in these difficult times, just as India has always stood by France. In spring 2020, when French hospitals were facing acute shortages, India provided lifesaving help through the export of critical medical drugs. The French people have not forgotten. India has, in fact, been at the forefront of international cooperation against the pandemic, including through sharing its massive vaccine production capacity with the countries most in need.”
Anita De Canaga is the vice president of CEFP and Gunasekar is the treasurer of CEFP. They said that with these donations, the CEFP has purchased equipment for the Covid-19 frontline carers in the hospitals.
A total of 500 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, 500 non-rebreather (NRB) mask, & 23 non-invasive ventilation (NIV) masks were included in the donation.
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At Mahatma Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Dental Sciences, Gorimedu, the Indian Dental Association (IDA), Puducherry branch, with the support of its members, contributed various materials to the Covid centre.
The personal protection kits consisting of masks, PPEs, hand sanitizers, face shields, protective eye wear and biomedical waste bags were handed over to the Dean Kennedy Babu. M.Narayanasamy, in charge of COVID Care Hospital, IDA president R.Kavitha and other members S.V.Srinivasan, V.Arun Prasad Rao and C.Ravishankar were also present in the ceremony.
