India’s Covid Crisis

India is experiencing a grave humanitarian crisis. A lethal second wave of coronavirus infections is devastating the country, leaving millions infected and taxing the country’s already overburdened health care system. With the number of Covid-19 cases accelerating at an unprecedented pace, India is currently responsible for more than half of the world’s daily new infections, setting a record-breaking pace of more than 400,000 a day. Officially, more than 20 million cases have been confirmed, over 200,000 people have died, and experts put the actual figures at many times higher. Based on current fatality rates, India could see 10,000 deaths from Covid-19 a day, or seven people dying every minute.

OneMoreBreath

To aid relief efforts, we have launched OneMoreBreath. Our goal with OneMoreBreath is to provide 1,400 beds, with requisite oxygen support, in the areas of India that have been hit hardest. We are working with existing local hospitals to provide a rapid, cost-effective solution by leveraging their staff of medical professionals and transforming unused hospital spaces into fully functional care centers.

The focus will be to provide beds to patients with “moderate” Covid symptoms who require oxygen support. Timely treatment of such patients reduces the probability that their conditions will worsen and require intensive care. Each bed, at a cost of about $1,500 a bed, has the potential to save 20 or more lives. All together, with 1,400 beds, we can save over 28,000 lives.

Additional details on the project can be found here Overview materials on OneMoreBreath

Project Highlights

• Integrated approach creating more impact:

  Equipment selection, procurement, installation and monitoring all done by us ensuring that the equipment is actually utilized and saves lives.

• Maximize impact per dollar raised:

  Leverage existing hospitals (reduce time and capital costs by not adding new buildings) and focus on "moderate" COVID cases to maximize impact per dollar raised.

• Team:

  Healthcare in India is Neeraj's core expertise. His experience, skills and network drove the vision behind OneMoreBreath. Ashu is a business leader with expertise in scaling complex business. Together, they are applying a results oriented approach to planning, sourcing and execution. The founding team seeded the project with $100K.

• On the ground network:

  We are tapping into a pre-existing, proven and successful on-the-ground network through our partner Round Table India. This will help us solve the last mile problem and ensure ongoing monitoring. Further, Round Table India is also comitting to cover the ongoing costs associated with OneMoreBreath.

Team

The project is being led by Ashu Garg and Pooja Malik in the U.S. and by Neeraj Garg in India.

Ashu is a general partner at Foundation Capital, who works with startups across the enterprise stack. Prior to Foundation, Ashu had extensive experience as an executive managing large numbers of people and an operator helping companies to scale complex businesses. He was the general manager for Microsoft’s online-advertising business; worked at McKinsey helping technology companies to scale their go-to-market efforts; founded one of the first search engines in Asia, and set up Unilever’s Nepal operations. Ashu has a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore, where he received the President’s Gold Medal.

Pooja is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nipun Capital, L.P., an asset management firm focused on emerging markets. Pooja is an entrepreneurial business leader who built and scaled, Nipun Capital, L.P., an asset management firm that uses data analytics and predictive modeling to build portfolios. Over the past 20 years, Pooja has built a successful track record managing equity portfolios globally and in Emerging markets. She is an award-winning thought leader and her numerous coveted awards include Hedge Fund Rising Star 2015, by Institutional Investor; Best Female Hedge Fund Manager, 2016, Eurekahedge; and Tomorrow’s Titan: 2016, by Ernst & Young with Hedge Fund Journal. Pooja is keenly passionate about building a more sustainable and equitable world.

Neeraj is a senior healthcare executive in India and currently leads India/Middle East for Eurofins, the world leader in testing services, now focused on Covid-19 testing. With 20+ years of healthcare experience in India, Neeraj has a robust on-the-ground sourcing and operations network, having led businesses at Apollo Health, Abott, and Piramal Healthcare. Prior to joining the healthcare industry, Neeraj worked at Unilever and A.T. Kearney in India, where he first developed his local operational expertise and network. Neeraj has a bachelor’s degree from Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) and an MBA from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS). Through Neeraj, we have identified hospitals where these 1,400 beds will be added and the vendors from whom we will source equipment.

Our Partner

We are partnering with Round Table India, a local non-profit, to provide operational support and ongoing funding. Round Table is an international organization in 67 countries, with 5000 members across 124 cities in India. Neeraj, the project leader in India, has been an active member of this organization for 20 years. Round Table has a proven track record of large-scale, operationally successful projects in small towns and cities across India.

Fundraising

At the outset of the project on May 1, 2021, our goal was to set up 1,400 beds. At an approximate cost of $1,500 beds, this required a total capital commitment of $2 million. Based on the overwhelming demand from hospitals for additional beds and the enormous support of donors, we raised our goal to 2000 at a total cost $3M. As of June 1, 2021, we have pledges amounting to $3M.

Our goal is to do the most good for the most number of people. Each bed has the potential to keep 20+ people alive. At a cost of $1,500 per bed, it means that for less than $100, you can save another person’s life.

Your contribution to OneMoreBreath maybe eligible for a corporate match. If your employer uses Benevity as a corporate matching platform, please look up OneMoreBreath on Benevity.

If you would like to send a wire or donate through a DAF, instructions can be found here

For questions in the U.S. or for corporate match programs, please reach out to Ashu Garg or Pooja Malik.

For questions and contributions in India, please reach out to Neeraj Garg.

Tax Benefits

Donations through OneMoreBreath are tax exempt under 501 (c)(3).

Updates

OneMoreBreath goes live!

In less than 4 weeks from conceptualization to implementation, OneMoreBreath is now live!

• Phase 1 of the project which aims to operationalize 700 beds is well underway.
• All the equipment has been delivered to hospitals and is being assembled as we write this note.
• Our volunteers did an amazing job reaching remote areas in Sunderban where even couriers do not commonly deliver.
• 50 beds in Bundu, Ranchi are now operational and the rest are coming online every day.

All the equipment for Phase 2 (an additional 700 beds) has been ordered.

We will send updates on email and update this website as often as we can. Thank you for your amazing support which is directly saving lives. Stay tuned for more updates!

Donors

The project was seeded by the Garg Family with a $100K commitment. Thanks to our generous donors, OneMoreBreath has raised $3M in pledges in less than a month.