WASHINGTON — Corus International is working with longstanding local partners to respond to the COVID-19 surge in India, providing support to overwhelmed hospitals and helping rural communities to limit the spread of the virus.
Working through its subsidiaries Lutheran World Relief and IMA World Health, Corus is assisting hospitals in accessing critical supplies like personal protective equipment, oxygen, ventilators and basic medicines. It is also helping long-standing community organizations that reach deep into communities, providing information and supplies to prevent COVID’s spread.
In its public health response, Corus is working with its partner Christian Medical Associates of India, which represents a network of community facilities that includes nearly 300 hospitals staffed by more than 10,000 healthcare professionals. Corus aims to support at least 10 hospitals in the immediate term in the coming six months with improved medical care, while improving the infrastructure in these clinics over the long term.
The epidemic in India is predicted to move from the cities to the rural areas where Lutheran World Relief’s disaster preparedness and livelihoods work is concentrated. Here, longtime development and health partners, including Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action, Integrated Development Foundation and Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group, will work at the community level, aiming to curb infection in both densely populated and rural communities with infection prevention supplies, messaging about how to keep safe, self-isolation methods and vaccination awareness across districts with an overall population of nearly 2 million, distributing supplies to the most vulnerable.
