Delhi, December 1, 2020: In a bid to improve the compliance around wearing masks in India, ACT Grants along with EkDesh, a non-profit organisation are distributing 10 Lakh N95 Masks to frontline workers across the country. This is to commemorate the recruitment of 500,000 Corona Soldiers who have pledged to drive COVID-positive behaviour and wear a mask.
With an intent to improve the compliance around wearing masks and masking every frontline worker, ACT Grants and EkDesh launched the “I am a Corona Soldier” initiative in August. Going forward, to support every pledge taken by individuals, one frontline worker will get masked with N95 in the country.
Overall, ACT has committed to distribute 90 Lakh N-95 masks amongst the frontline workers in the country. In partnership with 100 organisations, the initiative aims to safeguard frontline workers from Covid-19 across 74 districts from 30 States in over six months.
As per the recent survey conducted by EkDesh and Crownit, 70 per cent respondents said that Covid-19 has lost its severity. In fact, the survey brought to light that breathing problems (50 per cent), discomfort (44 per cent), the misconception that social distancing is enough (45 per cent) and disbelief that masks can control the spread of COVID-19 (44 per cent) are the primary barriers towards mask-wearing compliance.
Poonam Kaul, Brand Evangelist and Co-Founder, EkDesh said “Post the festivals, we have seen the second wave of Covid cases across the country. The onset of winters is expected to make the situation worse and it is imperative that people don’t drop their guards and stay vigilant. While the COVID warriors are fighting the virus every single day, all of us as citizens need to step up and take responsibility for ourselves and our families to drive COVID positive behaviour – wear a mask, maintain social distancing. We are thrilled to see the exuberant participation across the country for our Corona Soldier campaign, with over 5 Lakh Indian citizens joining hands with us in this fight against COVID. We will continue to push the pedal towards 100 per cent mask compliance in our mission to #MaskABillion.”
In April, Start-ups Vs COVID and ACT Grants launched an India-wide campaign to build a movement of using home-made masks also known as Apna Masks when one is outside home or has an illness. I am Corona Solider campaign builds on patriotism, layered it with the inconvenience that the soldiers face at the battlefront yet continue to fight for the country. Army veterans, Lt Col MK Sinha (Retd) and Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) gave out a battle cry to every citizen of the country to become a Corona Soldier and protect the country from coronavirus. Till date over they have recruited almost 450,000 Corona Soldiers including Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Indian Entrepreneur), Rajan Anandan (Managing Director, Sequoia Capital and Surge), Saina Nehwal (Badminton Player), Mary Kom (Boxer and a Member of Parliament), Yogeshwar Dutt (Wrestler), Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna, Bipasha Basu (Actress), Mouni Roy (Actress) and Diana Penty (Actress).