WASHINGTON (TIP): Following the Biden administration’s offer to help India, currently in the middle of a cataclysmic Covid surge, some civil rights activists and lawyers based in the United States and abroad have demanded more swift and transparent action on the part of the US government and accountability from the Indian government in distribution of these medical resources.

The activists, who describe themselves as a concerned group of civil and human rights defenders, activists and organizers based in India, the United States, and across the world, organized a “Rise for India – National Call in Day” on Wednesday, April 28.

President Joe Biden assured on Tuesday that the United States will be rushing immediate help to India in the form of Covid vaccines, Remdesivir injections and other medical aid. However, some U.S. activists say that his administration’s announcement of its revised policy on the export of vaccines and the supply of raw materials to produce vaccines does not detail how the policy will be administered.

The White House faced flak for not rushing to announce the aid package.

The Indian government has been criticized for mismanaging the crisis and under-reporting the infection and death rates.

The activists include civil, political and human rights lawyer Arjun Sethi, international human rights lawyer Ramya Reddy, and Georgetown Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellow Asees Bhasin.

Sethi tweeted, “Covid-19 is a global pandemic & the people of India need our support. We’re asking everyone to join a National Call In Day on Wed, April 28. Please use the app & urge Congress to take swift, comprehensive & transparent action to provide relief to India.”

Covid-19 is a global pandemic & the people of India need our support.

We’re asking everyone to join a National Call In Day on Wed, April 28.

Please use the app & urge Congress to take swift, comprehensive & transparent action to provide relief to India.https://t.co/RWwc0dm4Vn

— Arjun Sethi (@arjunsethi81) April 28, 2021

The group urged people to call their senators and representatives and ask them to demand President Biden to release information on how many doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be dispatched to India, share additional portions of the US vaccine stockpile, and provide a fully transparent timeline of when, how, and to what extent these measures, including the export of raw materials to ramp up the vaccine production, will be implemented.

They also asked Indian Americans to ask their representatives to continue to provide humanitarian assistance in the form of oxygen, testing kits, protective equipment and medical supplies. The group also demand ethical leadership and accountability from the Indian government on how it will distribute these resources and called on New Delhi to allow open and free reporting on the Covid crisis.

Here’s the full text with the details of the National Call in Day

The Biden Administration’s announcement of their revised policy on the export of vaccines and the supplying of raw materials to produce vaccines does not detail how the policy will be administered. Join us for a National Call-In Day on April 28th, 2021. Call your Senators and Representatives and ask them to demand President Biden:

• Release information on how many doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be dispatched to India, share additional portions of the US vaccine stockpile, and provide a fully transparent timeline of when, how, and to what extent these measures, including the export of raw materials to ramp up the vaccine production, will be implemented.
• Continue to provide humanitarian assistance in the form of oxygen, testing kits, protective equipment, and medical supplies.
• Support the global campaign calling for an Intellectual Property Rights waiver from the WTO for COVID-19 vaccines.
• Demand ethical leadership and accountability from the Indian government on how they will distribute these resources & order them to allow open & free reporting on the COVID crisis.
• You can find more details on the National Call in Day here

https://www.notion.so/Rise-for-India-National-Call-in-Day-79e1608061a540bdaf59591550a2386d