Press release

UK sends oxygen factories to support India

The UK will send further vital oxygen equipment to India in support of the country’s fight against coronavirus (COVID-19).

  • the UK is sending further life-saving oxygen equipment to India
  • the three oxygen generation units, each producing 500 litres of oxygen per minute, are the size of shipping containers
  • medical equipment from the UK arrived in India earlier this week, with more to be delivered over the coming days

The UK will send further vital oxygen equipment to India in support of the country’s fight against COVID-19.

Three oxygen generation units will be sent from surplus stocks in Northern Ireland to support India by providing more oxygen to those suffering from COVID-19. The oxygen units are each capable of producing 500 litres of oxygen per minute, enough for 50 people to use at a time. Oxygen is one of the main needs of India’s healthcare system.

This follows the UK’s recent action to support India, with 495 oxygen concentrators and 200 ventilators sent from surplus stocks. The first batch of these medical supplies arrived in Delhi around 1am local time on Tuesday 27 April, with the rest due to arrive there by Friday. The equipment will all then be transferred to Indian hospitals.

The support was sent in response to a request from India and a pledge from Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the UK to do all it can to help. The assistance package has been sourced by the Department of Health and Social Care and funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

We stand with our Indian friends in their fight against COVID-19.

International collaboration is more essential than ever, and this additional UK support package will help meet India’s current needs, particularly for more oxygen.

India has this week reported its highest numbers of new daily cases and deaths since the pandemic began and is facing severe shortages of oxygen.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has worked closely with the NHS, as well as suppliers and manufacturers in the UK to identify surplus life-saving equipment that can be sent to India.

This is the just the latest example of UK-India collaboration throughout this pandemic, to the benefit of both countries and the world.

Media enquiries

Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

Telephone 020 7008 3100

Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

Published 28 April 2021