SAP has recently committed an additional €3 million to its SAP COVID-19 Emergency Fund — matching the amount it has already pledged last year — to help India in its fight against the second wave of COVID-19 infections.
According to CNBC, India’s healthcare system continues to face supply shortages for medicines, vaccines, oxygen, and hospital beds as the situation worsened in April and with reports of more than 400,000 new cases starting in May.
Tech companies in the international community have responded with promises to send assistance to the country, including German software giant SAP which has doubled its commitment by adding another €3 million to its COVID-19 Emergency Fund for a total of €6 million.
In April 2020, SAP set up the COVID-19 Emergency Fund to support the needs of the World Health Organization (WHO), the CDC Foundation, and other not-for-profit organisations as well as social enterprises working on the front lines to serve local communities in crisis.
As a company with over 103,000 employees from 145 countries, SAP said that it will continue to fulfill its global responsibility in tackling the impacts of the pandemic. In October last year, SAP’s COVID-19 relief work in India, specifically in the State of Karnataka, was given recognition by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
Christian Klein, CEO and Member of the Executive Board at SAP, shared in a LinkedIn post:
“Addressing the devastating impacts of this pandemic takes global efforts, and we at SAP are committed to help battle the surge of cases. We already extended our support for our teams in India and are now also providing grants to address both the urgent needs of our employees and communities, as well as vaccine equity across the world.”
SAP Ramps Up COVID-19 Initiatives
According to SAP, an amount of €1 million from its new donation will go towards the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator called COVAX. Developed in association with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the WHO, and long-term SAP partner UNICEF, COVAX aims to promote the advancement of COVID-19 vaccines to secure a way to end the acute phase of the pandemic.
Moreover, the tech giant continues to collaborate with not-for-profit organisations and strategic partners, including the NASSCOM Foundation and UNDP India, to support Indian communities by:
- Conducting awareness campaigns for COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Providing home care support for home-quarantined patients under expert medical supervision
- Offering preventative care measures for citizens, including SAP employees
- Augmenting healthcare and public health infrastructure
Last March, SAP Labs India pledged to cover the full vaccination cost for their eligible staff and their insured dependents to keep them safeguarded amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Sindhu Gangadharan, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at SAP Labs India, and Kulmeet Bawa, President and Managing Director at SAP Indian subcontinent, are said to be leading the massive relief effort on the ground.
According to Gangadharan, the company’s crisis management team is working around the clock to answer staff’s questions and clarifications as local teams continue to facilitate vaccination to employees and their families at SAP Labs India facilities.
Expressing her gratitude to the entire SAP Executive Board for its support in mobilising resources and funds for India-based employees and their families, Gangadharan remarked:
“The continued support during COVID-19 crisis has once again demonstrated that SAP is a human company where people come first.”
