Comments?
Ajay Banga, executive chairman of Mastercard and ex CEO, MasterCard, wrote on Monday:
US - India Covid situation
Some updates as of 12 noon California time :
I just got done with a zoom call with US Secretary of State - Blinken along with 135 US CEOs - Biden and Modi had a call this morning and the US army and the US state department are coordinating medication, aid, and equipment - UPS and United / Delta have already volunteered flights to take equipment to India Amazon is coordinating ventilators distribution.
The US government is fully in support. Google, IBM, JP Morgan, FedEx Walmart, Coke, J&J, Pfizer are all aware that the impact in India will impact the world- both on health and economy.
The biggest concern - India wants everything coordinated through the PMO - the US wants to work with various institutions in India as they believe lot of aid will be locked up in Delhi and not get to the states as speed is critical.
The US is also sending several military mobile hospitals for ICUs.
The US bureaucracy took time to get mobilized but I can assure you that a massive massive massive effort and Dollars are being shipped today - as we speak!
US govt health stock of Astra Zeneca vaccines are being shipped along with all raw material to make vaccines in India. The extra stock of Oxygen equipment is being diverted from war field hospitals to India. Google is helping India with tracking Covid in India. Lockheed Martin is sending helicopters and cargo flights to move equipment to small towns in India. Many firms have offered their empty offices in India to be used as vaccine centers.
America wants to show it has the money, equipment, and most important the heart to come to India’s help during this unbelievable crisis.
Bottom line
I have never seen such public-private coordination before - the might, brainpower and financial resources of the US government are now fully in motion for India.
It’s now all about coordination efficiency and speed of execution.
Covid has to be stopped in its tracks or the Indian variant will spread through the world by the end of May.