Covid: Foreign aid to India allegedly not distributed well by the government

The COVID-19 pandemic in India has become a global concern, this has led various countries to provide assistance to India.

However, according to media reports assistance such as medical supplies has not been properly distributed, so medical resources in India are still poor.

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The government previously issued a statement stressing that there would be no delay, saying that nearly 4 million materials had been distributed to 38 health institutions in various regions.

However, Rajasthan and other local governments are still complaining about when or how they will receive the materials if they have not received notification from the central government.

Quoted from CNN, although a large amount of foreign aid materials have arrived in India, but because of the chaotic management of the government's distribution process, a large amount of medical aid from abroad is still lying in the aircraft warehouse in New Delhi.

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According to a statement issued by India's Ministry of Health on Tuesday, the ministry issued guidelines called 'standard operating procedures' on May 2 to explain the distribution of international relief materials.

However, the distribution method stipulated in this 'standard operating procedure' ran into complex problems, which in turn increased the delay in distribution.

Once international assistance has arrived in India, it will first be received by the Indian Red Cross, and the Red Cross will then cooperate with customs to approve the goods.

Once the materials pass through customs, they will be handed over to HLL Lifecare, a manufacturer of health care products owned by the Ministry of Health and the central government, which is responsible for delivering the materials to their final destinations.

The process seems simple, but the government has many problems implementing it. 

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The Ministry of Health claims that due to differences in the quantity, specifications and timing of imports of materials from abroad.

As most of the foreign aid goes directly to New Delhi, states and remote areas have to wait slowly for the distribution of materials.

It was quoted by NDTV, on Monday that 3,000 oxygen concentrators were stranded at the Delhi Customs Department without a permit.

It is not clear how much relief material is still piling up at the airport waiting to be processed. 

The government has dispatched troops to assist with material distribution, and air force transport planes have been involved in the work of transporting materials in the air.

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