Mumbai, May 10 (IANS): Global life sciences company Bayer on Monday announced an extension of its COVID-19 relief measures to local communities, healthcare workers, businesses and employees.

As COVID-19 cases surge in India, Bayer is re-purposing its existing 200 NM3/hr Nitrogen plant at its manufacturing facility at Vapi. This will help provide a permanent source of Oxygen supply to a local hospital.

Additionally, Bayer will also provide oxygen concentrators to Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to serve communities across rural India.

Over the last 10 months, the company along with the Government of Maharashtra has converted its plant at Chittegaon, Aurangabad into an 80-bed COVID-care facility. To support, those in need, the organization has also sponsored beds in major hospitals across multiple cities for emergency support.

In collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra, NASSCOM and WNS Global Services, Bayer is supporting 30 ICU beds in one of the district hospitals through telemedicine solutions.

There is an urgent and critical need to support those paramedics and frontline workers who are struggling with mental health challenges during these tough times. To this end, Bayer is launching a helpline to support these frontline workers and the farming community. This helpline will serve approximately 10,000 beneficiaries and their immediate families.

To accelerate the vaccination process, Bayer is mobilizing communities by conducting awareness drives highlighting the benefits of immunization and reinforcing COVID Appropriate Behaviour (CAB). These efforts will complement Bayer's ongoing initiative to facilitate vaccination for all employees and their families.

D. Narain, Senior Bayer Representative, South Asia and Chief Executive Officer, Bayer CropScience Limited said, "During these unprecedented times, it is our responsibility to support the nation's fight against the pandemic. Our small contribution is an effort to sustain sections of our society where help is needed the most. Reflecting our vision, 'Health for all, hunger for none', we will continue our efforts to resurrect vulnerable sections of our society."

Since the start of the pandemic, Bayer has been focused at providing holistic support across multiple dimensions delivering impactful results to the communities and customers we serve. As part of these initiatives to provide critical supplies and support, Bayer has provided 15,000 PPE kits to 175 hospitals across 6 states; 6,00,000 N-95 masks to police personnel and 206 hospitals in 12 states; 5,000 pairs of gloves to frontline workers; 5,500 ration kits to migrant workers and 45,000 cooked meals to quarantined individuals and frontline workers.

In addition through its initiative "Better Farms, Better Lives", Bayer has provided 4,00,000 smallholder farmers, immediate access to basic agri-inputs and crop advisories in 204 districts across 17 states, spanning key crops such as rice, corn, vegetables and millet to support their critical livelihood needs. The company is also extending support to marginalized communities with nutritious food through the "Roti Foundation, Mumbai".

While the last few months have been tumultuous, Bayer's 13,000+ employees and associates are ensuring that our customers, partners and local communities are supported extensively. Safety of our employees and their families has always been paramount. Bayer's employee welfare measures have included enhanced health insurance coverage, teleconsultation services, comprehensive health check-ups and vaccination programs for all our employees, their families and all contracted associates.