Imtiaz Sooliman – Gift of the Givers overwhelmed desperate plea for oxygen.

Imtiaz Sooliman
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The pandemic in India is causing more deaths and high hospitalizations, leading to the loss of staff and the need for more beds to cover patients. The speakers emphasize the importance of helping people stop the spread of COVID-19 in their countries, including the need for responsible behavior and healthcare workers to cover their bodies. The shortage of healthcare workers and vaccinations are also important.

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			Alright, non governmental
organization, gift of the givers
		
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			Foundation, says that they are
inundated with by people and
		
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			patients calling out desperate
pleas for oxygen. Gauteng is
		
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			already exceeding the numbers of
infections reported at the peak of
		
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			the first and second wave. The
province accounts for more than
		
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			60% of all active cases in the
country, and private and public
		
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			hospitals are under severe strain.
Now let's discuss this. Then
		
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			further, we're joined via zoom, by
gift of the givers. Founder,
		
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			doctor mitia Suleman. Doctor
Suleman, it's always a pleasure to
		
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			speak to you. Thank you for being
with us here on sabc news, sir.
		
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			Thank you for thank you very much.
Talk to us about just how, you
		
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			know, desperate this situation is.
I mean, I understand that you are
		
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			inundated, you know, with calls
about oxygen tanks. I mean, this,
		
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			this also, then also, kind of says
a lot and paints a picture about
		
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			the faith that is lost in in the
public health system, and perhaps,
		
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			you know, government as a whole,
while we're dealing with this
		
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			pandemic, or are you perhaps
reading it differently?
		
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			Why is a combination of both?
		
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			Let's take the first wave and the
second wave. It's not much
		
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			different in terms of the calls.
People want oxygen cylinders.
		
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			People want oxygen, people want
beds. People want to go to
		
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			hospital. People want some kind of
hope for survival. What's
		
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			different in this wave is that the
calls are now coming for oxygen
		
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			concentrators from general
practitioners and physicians. And
		
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			I find that strange, and ask them
about why are you guys asking for
		
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			oxygen concentrators? And they
said, look, the problem is there's
		
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			no beds. There's probably
hospitals and private hospitals
		
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			are full and to give the patient a
chance of survival, but the hope
		
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			that some bed becomes available,
we're increasing the number of
		
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			oxygen concentrators be using at
home, and we're doing home care,
		
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			and the general practitioners and
physicians are actually visiting
		
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			patients at home. But we I said,
but in the first and second wave,
		
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			there were so many oxygen
concentrators. One doctor tells
		
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			me, I we had 140 we need another
five or 600 and it won't be
		
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			enough. And that kind of messages
we're getting from different
		
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			doctors from throughout the
region, in gauteng, so you have
		
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			this extra need of doctors having
the ref oxygen concentration. And
		
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			then we said, okay, the problem is
counting. There's there's several
		
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			problems. One is a number of
infection when if you looked at
		
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			first and second wave, it was
spread out throughout the country.
		
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			In the third wave, the largest
number of infections, 67 to 70%
		
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			are in gauteng itself. Yeah. So it
means the number of infections in
		
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			the country, in that province is
the biggest in the whole country,
		
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			which means more beds are
required. But now there's another
		
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			problem. Charlotte hospital is
closed, so we lose the capacity of
		
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			300 to 400 patients. At the peak
of the second wave, that hospital
		
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			is running between 304 100
patients and Ill once. So we have,
		
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			we have that loss. You don't have
the space for those patients, and
		
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			with the extra infections, you're
getting more people to carry
		
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			hospital at the same time? So the
physicians are treating patients
		
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			at home with the hope you know
that they will survive, but we
		
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			know that's not ideal, because
five liters and 10 liters oxygen
		
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			concentrators are not going to do
much when the oxygen requirement
		
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			becomes higher than that, when
people get more ill, when they
		
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			progress and they need to go to go
to hospital, and that's where the
		
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			challenge comes, that more people
will die. Dr suraman, you were
		
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			watching the situation, the dire
situation in India, quite closely.
		
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			I do understand that gift of the
givers was somewhat involved
		
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			there. I'm hoping that with that
involvement, there were, you know,
		
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			some lessons learned that perhaps,
you know, you picked up that you
		
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			know, you can help in terms of
stopping that from happening in
		
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			South Africa. I mean, it's such a
huge task for you, indeed, but
		
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			certainly haven't seen and we saw
those visuals coming out of India
		
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			of what was happening there. And I
wonder if there are lessons that
		
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			you picked up that can be brought
here so that we don't really find
		
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			ourselves and ourselves in exactly
that, that situation that we saw.
		
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			It's the converse. India is asking
us, what did we learn from our way
		
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			to the side? They want that kind
of feedback. Yeah,
		
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			it's simple flow. It's very, very
simple. You know what? We can say,
		
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			lock down, 5321, whatever we want
to say, we can say, You know what?
		
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			You know, close, this close that.
The reality is that's in our own
		
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			hands. Yeah. We have to be
responsible, because, you we the
		
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			ones that actually carry the
virus. It's nobody else. So each
		
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			person has to take that
responsibility. And if we do that,
		
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			you know, we still got a chance.
You know, we are hoping the rest
		
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			of the cap and and, you know, the
other Puma, Langa, doesn't go the
		
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			way. It's how thing is going, but
it seems to be heading that
		
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			direction already. But in the rest
of the country, if we just follow
		
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			the rules of masking, making sure
we are responsible for ourselves,
		
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			our families and those around us,
wherever we walking, you know, so
		
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			the left, the right, behind and in
front, make sure we not too close
		
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			to the people. Make sure there's
enough ventilation, yeah, make
		
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			sure you don't spend too much of
time in in close places. That's
		
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			the simple rules, you know, that
will help us. That's from a
		
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			individual point of view, from a
government for.
		
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			Of you, we should have learned
lessons already from this first
		
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			and second wave. And one of the
big problems is we haven't put
		
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			enough healthcare workers in
hospitals. Healthcare workers get
		
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			burnt out. They die, you know?
They get infected. The number of
		
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			healthcare workers becomes less,
and the burden on existing
		
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			healthcare workers becomes more,
which has happened in the first
		
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			and the second wave, and we've
seen that in Europe and America,
		
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			we haven't addressed that issue.
There was a shortage of medical
		
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			personnel before covid 19, and we
haven't filled that gap. And what
		
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			we have, what we haven't done from
the second wave, is to make sure
		
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			we have enough bulk oxygen in many
more hospitals, but more oxygen
		
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			points and more oxygen devices.
That's an absolute essential. We
		
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			all went on the government went on
issue. We're going to vaccinate,
		
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			and that's going to help us, but
we knew for a fact we're not going
		
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			to vaccinate 45 million people in
time of the third wave. We had to
		
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			do two programs, the vaccination
as well as parallel, preparing the
		
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			hospitals. Not only have we not
prepared hospitals, one of our
		
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			main hospitals even checked in
Johannesburg and for two months,
		
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			and we don't know why. Alright,
Doctor Sullivan, thank you very
		
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			much for your work. Would have
loved to continue. Unfortunately,
		
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			we're out of time at this point,
but good luck with all your work.
		
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			Thanks very much for speaking to
us.
		
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			Thank you. Alright, that is gift
of the givers. Doctor emissions
		
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			Suleiman, and of course, talking
about some of the desperation,
		
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			really, that is happening in our
country with the calls they are
		
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			inundated with, the calls for
oxygen tanks. So just that
		
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			discussion there.