Rotary Gets Covid-Ready

RCB HAD ITS FIRST-EVER E-MEETING NEEDED IN TODAY’S SOCIAL DISTANCING TIMES

PP RTN. SANDIP AGARWALLA
I am a part of the Government of Maharashtra’s CSR-Medical Equipments and Supplies group as well as the GoM Food group. Every now and then we receive messages that food supplies are not reaching this corner and that corner. I am happy to share that the group is headed by the Principal Health Secretary and a lot of prominent officials as well as lot of CSR donors and supply vendors and large aggregators.

So what are we looking at in food? One is operate kitchens where in Rotary Clubs in our district, mainly the Rotary Club of Mumbai, Versova, and, of course, our Club has been giving a lot of support to these activities. I believe, this morning, RCM Queens Necklace and RCM Western Elite have also joined in.

TOGETHER, EVERY DAY, WE (RCM VERSOVA AND RCB) DISTRIBUTE OVER 15,000 MEALS FREE OF CHARGE. THANKS TO THE CONTRIBUTION OF VARIOUS DONORS ALL OVER – ROTARIANS AS WELL AS NON-ROTARIANS

– we have been able to run different centres across Mumbai. The cost of a meal can be anywhere between Rs 20-25. It’s a simple khichdi, the minimum weight of which is 225 gms. The khichdi comes in four varieties and is made by rotation under the most hygienic standards in a well-equipped kitchen.

We do not use make-shift arrangements. We use good kitchens that we supervise and the food is distributed by BMC officials. We take the help of the BMC and the Police who pick up most of the food and take it away to distribute. We do not go out and distribute the meals. The demand constantly increases everyday and we are upping the quantity by a thousand meals.

We have just started a new kitchen in South Mumbai from tomorrow at the Hindi Vidya Bhavan School. We are starting with 500 meals each for lunch and dinner, and again it’s going to be khichdi. Then the second part of the food is rations which are being initiated also by our Club. More details will be probably shared by Deepali Paul and Shernaz as to how and where rations are being sent to the needy. Either they are pre-packed or given to centres in bulk which can then be distributed in each home, as required.

PRESIDENT PREETI MEHTA
We have received commitments from several Rotarians. We have tied up with two NGOs, our old partners, YMCA through Rtn. George Paul. There, we are giving a fixed amount and at the rate of Rs. 700 per family, they will be able to distribute a package of rice, dal, wheat flour and sugar – the basic essentials for the family which will last four to five days. We are starting with smaller amounts and then we will see whether the government is stepping in, whether we need to revise this or extend it. We will take it forward from there.

The second NGO which Rtn. Shernaz Vakil has been able to tie up with called Helping Hands.

PN SHERNAZ VAKIL
There is a gentleman called Bilal who is handling it and he is going to widows’ homes, children’s homes, slum dwellers, wherever he is able to deliver with his little van. Unfortunately, he is yet to get money from our side, we are hoping to give it tomorrow.

PRESIDENT PREETI MEHTA
The YMCA has started the work right away and they are giving support to people in slums and below the poverty line. Maybe tomorrow they will start the distribution on our behalf.

IF YOU CAN’T FEED A HUNDRED PEOPLE, THEN FEED JUST ONE.

MOTHER TERESA

PP RTN. SANDIP AGARWALLA
The next thing I would like to talk is about medical supplies and medical equipment. This is a huge issue and there is an acute shortage. One day something is available and another day it’s not. I know this first-hand – I have been placing orders which are being reneged on because someone else is giving a higher price for the supplies. Suppliers make up other stories but one knows what is going on.

What is required, firstly, is to move with speed on these items once they are decided. It is also required to get the Maharashtra Government’s approval for every single item because they have very rigid certification norms and we don’t want to contribute something which is not going to be used by them. What the Government of Maharashtra has done for medical equipment and supplies is centralise all deliveries to the Haffkine Institute which will decide on the distribution to hospitals across Maharashtra depending on their need. One cannot dictate as to where one’s equipment should be directed. Haffkine Institute will decide based on the urgency and requirement of the hospitals of the Government of Maharashtra as to where it shall all go. Although we can put in a word to give it to so and so hospital if it is possible, they’ll do it only if it is feasible for them. Otherwise, they will divert it elsewhere.

Currently, I believe there are five hotspots in Maharashtra as of yesterday: Sangli, Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai and Thane.

SO, WHAT DO WE NEED IN MEDICAL SUPPLIES? WE NEED DISINFECTANTS, MASKS BOTH 3-PLY AS WELL AS N95.

We need PPE – Personal Protection Equipment, which the doctors need to wear while examining patients in COVID-19 wards. I don’t know how many of you know that the fourth to seventh floor of the new wing of Breach Candy Hospital has been emptied and is being converted into an isolation ward or treatment ward for COVID-19, in addition to wards in the charitable Godrej wing. All the doctors have to wear PPE.

THE MOST ADVANCED PPE IS NOT AVAILABLE BUT ACCEPTABLE PPE ARE BOOKED FROM CHINA AND OTHER PLACES.

What is available in India is for Rs 1500-1800 and is not exactly what the PPE should be but we have to make do with whatever we get and, currently, it is the best that we can get.

There are companies making hazmat suits for use in pharma labs or chemical labs which are also approved by the Government of Maharashtra because something is better than nothing. Gloves will also be needed.

To give you an example, N95 masks are available in bulk with a minimum quantity of 20-25,000 and upto a lakh in quantity. They are available – they are being made in India and they are available between Rs 120-150 plus GST per mask.

The gloves are obviously much cheaper. The 3-ply masks are generally Rs 10 per mask and again they have to be bought in bulk. There are various types of 3-ply masks, one can get some in Rs 7 but let’s not get into that. Let’s stick to what GoM has approved. I can share the certification if anyone is interested. As far as the medical equipment is concerned, they require various things including BPaPt machines, respirators etc but by far the most important is the ventilator.

I don’t know how many of you know why the ventilator is so important. The ventilator is very important because as Covid-19 is a respiratory disease, it gets into the lungs. The patient then requires ventilator support to breathe. It is only with this support that they can regain strength to recover and get back on their feet. Ventilators are in a big shortage and I am in touch with various suppliers. There are ventilators available for as high as Rs 16 lakh. What is really scary and this shows how serious the situation is – the Government of Maharashtra has approved the use of refurbished ventilators which are now available in the market. They are coming with a six-month warranty and donors, of course, are usually balking and not agreeing to support such items.

THE DAY, IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE OR EVEN WHAT YOU’VE ACCOMPLISHED.

IT’S ABOUT WHO YOU’VE LIFTED UP, WHO YOU’VE MADE BETTER.

IT’S ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE GIVEN BACK.

– DENZEL WASHINGTON

THE VENTILATORS COME AND GO, TO AND FROM THE MARKET, FAST, EVEN A HUNDRED VENTILATORS GET SOLD IN A MATTER OF HOURS. VENTILATORS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS REQUIRED IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.

PE FRAMROZE MEHTA
We haven’t got any details yet but Sandip and I can coordinate and see to it that we stick to right suppliers and of course it has to be through the Haffkine Institute so once the funds are in our account, it goes forward.

PP RTN. SANDIP AGARWALLA
It’s not through the Haffkine Institute as such. Haffkine decides where the equipment should go. We have to pay suppliers directly. Of course, it will all be under the Rotary Club of Bombay banner, and funds collected will be paid directly to suppliers – this is just cutting the chase and sparing a lot of heartburn.

Similarly, in whatever food activities we have undertaken so far, we have either paid suppliers directly or the other club is taking it under their trust account directly. So it’s entirely up to you how you want to go about, but I think that is the best thing to do.

VOTE OF THANKS BY RTN. FARHAT JAMAL