Coronavirus impact: FCA India lends helping hand to fight COVID-19

FCA India has announced to do its bit in the fight against the spread of Coronavirus pandemic. The company has pledged a financial help of Rs 2 crore and that includes supply of medical kits, personal protective equipment (PPE), dry food, hygiene essentials and hospitalization for the needy in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai.

The company has joined hands with not-for-profit organizations like Sevalaya in Chennai and United Way Mumbai for distribution of essential kits to 1500 families in the two cities. Each family kit has dry food, personal hygiene essentials (including toothpaste, soap and hand wash) and PPE necessary for a family of four.

FCA engineering has partnered with a non-profit organisation named Voluntary Health Services (VHS) in Chennai and a 42-bed COVID isolation ward with medical equipment will be provided to the organisation.  The company will also provide air validation systems and a medical oxygen pipeline Naidu Hospital which comes under Pune Municipal Corporation. Over the above-mentioned contributions, the employees of the company are also giving up a portion of their salaries voluntarily to help the needy.

Globally, the company has put two production lines at the Comau manufacturing facility in China to produce 1 million facemasks per month along with a meal program that catered to one million children of communities that are in the vicinity of FCA's plants in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. The meal program was further extended to Canada and Mexico.

The company also converted its leisure and sports club in Betim, Brazil into a 200-bed hospital for COVID-19 affected patients with an infirmary, intensive care units (ICU), recovery units, cafeteria and resting rooms for the medical staff. The company has also provided its vehicles in China and Italy to frontline health workers and volunteers and also facilitated with the supply of medical equipment in markets across the globe where there was a scarcity for it.

Partha Datta, president and managing director at FCA India said, "While a much-needed strategy is being put in place to restart economic activity by reopening various industries, large sections of the community are still displaced and are in need of basic necessities and proper medical treatment to survive the next couple of months. "Our initiative is aimed at helping people tide over these difficult circumstances as critical steps are being taken to flatten the curve as quickly as possible. I am also incredibly proud that our employees have generously contributed a portion of their salary to help in the relief efforts."