Democracy People Foundation raises Rs 13.5 crores under Mission Oxygen initiative

The fundraiser started on Ketto and 1300 concentrators have been procured so far along with funding four times the initial goal

Democracy People Foundation, a motivated community of founders, has raised Rs 13.5 crores as part of the Mission Oxygen initiative to source oxygen concentrators. The fundraiser began on April 23, 2021, via Ketto, a crowdsourcing platform to initially raise about Rs. 2.5 crore to source ~500 oxygen concentrators (OCs) from China and elsewhere. Not only has the group managed to raise 6x of its initial goal with support from over 10,000 donors but also procured 1300 concentrators. 

Speaking about this, Rahul Aggarwal, Founder, Designhill and trustee of Democracy People Foundation, said, “This is a time of dire need and crisis for India. However, it is also time for stakeholders to come together in whatever capacity they can and help meet the increasing demand for oxygen concentrators. This was the idea behind starting Mission Oxygen. Since April 23, we have worked with key stakeholders across governments and healthcare sectors to arrange for concentrators and also set up this plant at the hospital. Even as we undertake this initiative, the demand is only going to rise further and we estimate that the total requirement for oxygen concentrators pan India could be more than 150,000. We urge everyone to come together and support this cause as every single donation can save lives.”

The group of over 250 entrepreneurs is now working round the clock to successfully arrange logistics with partners like Spicejet, DHL, Flexiport, Air India and Delhivery. The first shipment of approximately 150-200 OCs should arrive this week and the remaining 1000-1100 the following week latest by May 5. Additionally, Democracy People Foundation along with DCM Shriram, Apeejay, Rotary Club Delhi Premier, Advance Valves, Delhi Tie has donated an Oxygen Generation plant to be set up in Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, a first of its kind to be set up by the Delhi government during this crisis.

Adding further, Varun Aggarwal, Founder, Designhill, said, “We have worked out all aspects around this initiative and are confident about further scaling up this effort to support our country and the governments during this time. The supply chains are getting difficult by the day, prices are getting higher by the hour and supplies are diminishing by the minute. We request everyone to come together and support this cause as it will go a long way in tiding over this crisis and helping our healthcare infrastructure pull up to meet the demand.”

Conveying his appreciation, Satyendar Jain, Minister of Health, Home, Water, Power, Industries, Irrigation & Flood Control, PWD and Urban Development, Government of Delhi, said, “On behalf of the Health and Family Welfare Department and citizens of National Capital Territory of Delhi, I express deep gratitude to the Democracy People Foundation for their efforts towards the cause of fighting COVID-19. I will personally look into the progress and I am happy to support the efforts in whichever way possible from my end. I urge everyone to donate generously and help save as many lives as possible.”