Walmart and Flipkart to provide Rs 46 crore to support India’s fight against coronavirus COVID-19

Walmart Inc, Walmart Foundation and e-commerce major Flipkart on Saturday said they are supporting India's COVID-19 response by donating personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and funds for organisations providing essential relief materials to farmers and small businesses.

Walmart Inc and e-commerce major Flipkart will spend Rs 38.3 crore towards in-kind donations into India to help with the front-line response efforts, a statement said. "The companies will focus on providing PPE, such as N95 masks and medical gowns, for distribution by non-government organizations (NGOs) to public healthcare workers," an official statement said.

"Walmart and Flipkart have already secured 300,000 N95 masks and 1 million medical gowns, and they will continue to leverage their global supply chains to source these critical necessities for medical workers who stand at the frontline of the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak in India. 

In addition to this in-kind support, the Walmart Foundation is donating a total of Rs 7.7 crore to Goonj and Srijan, NGOs supporting vulnerable communities through the crisis. The funds will be used to support the procurement of essential relief materials, such as food, medicine, and hygiene items, for distribution by the organizations to support farmers, rural communities, and the micro-businesses.  

“Our customers and associates in India have been deeply impacted by COVID-19 and our hearts continue to be with them. In times like these, we all need to come together to support our communities and the efforts of healthcare workers, NGOs and government organizations. We are grateful to all those providing reliefs in India and we want to help," said Kathleen McLaughlin, executive vice president and chief sustainability officer for Walmart and president of the Walmart Foundation. 

“Our Flipkart teams are working around the clock to respond to the COVID-19 crisis with care and compassion. We are very proud of them. The emergency relief efforts we are announcing today underscore our commitment to continuing to work with the private and public sector in India to respond to this unprecedented challenge,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group.

While keeping supply lines open to ensure that Indian consumers have access to essential daily necessities, Walmart and Flipkart are also taking important steps to help protect public health and the safety of customers and associates as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve. These efforts include enhanced hygiene practices across the supply chain and delivery network, insurance and health benefits for workers, contactless deliveries where possible and supporting cashless payments.

Corporate India has been rushing in to help the government and citizens fight the pandemic. Tata Trusts and Tata group together have pledged Rs 1,500 crore, while Wipro Ltd, Wipro Enterprises Ltd and Azim Premji Foundation have together committed Rs 1,125 crore. A number of other companies have extended support by providing sanitizers, masks and meals to people.