Hindustan Unilever Limited begins roll out of Mission HO₂PE initiative in Chandigarh  

Chandigarh: After a successful roll-out in Delhi & Bangalore, Hindustan Unilever Limited has now rolled out Mission HO2PE in Chandigarh. As part of Mission HO2PE, HUL has partnered with KVN Foundation and Portea Medical, India’s largest home healthcare company to make oxygen concentrators available free of cost to COVID-19 patients promptly and efficiently.

India is facing a severe shortage of O2 concentrators as the healthcare system continues to grapple with the deadly second wave of Covid-19. Through Mission HO2PE, HUL has airlifted over 5000 oxygen concentrators into India. HUL’s partnership with KVN Foundation and Portea Medical will provide access to oxygen for Covid-19 patients directly in their homes, thereby reducing the pressure on our healthcare infrastructure which is already under duress.

In Chandigarh, COVID-19 patients and caregivers can request for an oxygen concentrator by giving a missed call on 08068065385. The Mission HO2PE team will connect with the patient and assist with the request. Once the request is validated, the concentrator will be delivered to the patient’s home. A trained volunteer will also visit to help the patients and caregivers and assist them in managing functions and operations of the oxygen concentrator.

The program is operating under a ‘borrow-use-return’ model. Post usage, the concentrators will be sanitised, serviced, and provided to the next set of people who need them, thus ensuring the concentrators reach a maximum number of people and help save as many lives as possible.

Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, HUL said, “The second wave of Covid has brought upon us a severe humanitarian crisis. The entire Unilever family is rallying together to support India in this moment of crisis by helping secure oxygen concentrators which are in severe short supply. We are hopeful that our partnership with Portea Medical will help save the lives of people who are in dire need of medical oxygen as well as reduce the burden on medical infrastructure.”

Adding further, Meena Ganesh, Co-Founder and CEO, Portea Medical said, “Having treated over 4 lakh COVID patients over the last year, we understand the challenges posed by this pandemic. The second wave is unprecedented and has shown that there is an urgent need to treat patients with oxygen therapy and keep them out of the overflowing hospitals. In this regard, we are proud to partner with HUL in this noble initiative and ensure access to medical oxygen for patients in their homes.”

“KVN Foundation expresses its gratitude to HUL for supporting this cause in these challenging times for the nation. The Foundation looks forward to associating with both HUL and Portea Medical to bring relief to the beneficiaries," said Venkat K Narayana, Managing Trustee, KVN Foundation.

Mission HO2PE has been launched successfully in Delhi & Bangalore and is being rolled out in other severely affected cities such as Kolkata, Lucknow, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai etc. HUL will also be donating concentrators to hospitals in nearly 35+ locations across urban and rural India.

Besides this partnership, the Company is facilitating as well as covering the cost for vaccination of its outer core of around 300,000 people including those who work for suppliers, distributors as well as Shakti Ammas in rural areas. HUL has also set up isolation facilities across its 30+ manufacturing units – most of them located in rural parts of India.  Apart from O2 concentrators, HUL will also be providing ventilators and other medical equipment for hospitals, including in rural areas.

Last year, HUL had committed Rs 100 crores to support the communities impacted by the pandemic. The Company supported more than 100,000 migrant labour families with food kits for 15 days and provided over 2 crore soaps and sanitisers to communities across India. HUL also partnered with UNDP to donate hygiene and sanitisation products to support frontline sanitation workers in 25 cities. The Company also collaborated with UNICEF to create a large-scale awareness campaign about protective measures that reached over 600 million people and drove home the message of social distancing and hygiene, which is critical to fight this virus.