In a display of solidarity with Karnataka, the Consulate General of Israel to South India joined Karnataka Government’s efforts to strengthen the public health system In Karnataka, by supplying 25 Oxygen Concentrators which will be distributed to government hospitals in Bengaluru. This as part of Karnataka Government’s efforts to make Karnataka a healthier and safer place, in face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Consulate General of Israel to South India partnered with B.PAC, a leading NGO, aiming to improve governance in Bengaluru, to identify, together with GoK, the best solidarity gesture to assist in the efforts of combating the pandemic. B.PAC Managing Trustee & CEO, Ms. Revathy Ashok, and her team, identified the most pressing need for Oxygen Concentrators, and assisted in locating local vendors who can supply the necessary units.
On the last day of her post, August 3rd, 2020, Consul General, Ms. Dana Kursh, together with Ms. Revathy Ashok, met with Shri Mahendra Jain, Chief Commissioner, Government of Karnataka, to finalize the details of the project. Consul General Kursh expressed her appreciation of Karnataka Government’s impressive handling of the pandemic, and thanked the GoK for enabling Israel to join in the efforts with this gesture of solidarity. They also received a demonstration of the Oxygen Concentrators. The full delivery of 25 units has arrived at Karnataka State Drugs Logistics & warehousing Society on August 17th, 2020. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation) had allocated a special budget for this gesture.
Ms. Dana Kursh: “Naama Bengaluru has been a home the Israeli Consulate to South India since 2013, and my own home for the past 3 years. Witnessing the way India, Karnataka, and namma Bengaluru are combating the Covid19 pandemic, has enhanced my pride of being a Bengalurian. Joining the efforts of Karnataka Government to make the state a healthier and safer place, is a small token of appreciation and friendship the people of Israel share with the people of India. As a proud Israeli diplomat, posted in incredible India, I am confident that the India-Israel innovative partnership in fighting this pandemic will benefit the entire world.”
Ms. Revathy Ashok: “B.PAC was delighted to partner with the Israeli Consulate for this requirement, and is extremely thankful for their timely support in addressing this critical need in emergency COVID response. “
Background: Israel-India cooperation to fight COVID-19. At the outbreak of the pandemic, the Prime Ministers of both countries decided to collaborate in fighting Covid-19. This included a joint scientific and technological cooperation, where an Israeli research delegation visited India, and in partnership with DRDO, completed a series of tests (3/8) to determine the effectiveness of several Israeli technologies developed for the rapid diagnosis of the corona virus. This in addition to India supplying to Israel raw materials for producing chloroquine, the Embassy of Israel to India contributing state-of-the-art AI based technologies and equipment to AIMS institutions, New Delhi, and more.
