Gujarat: Conquerors’ unused medicines give others a shot

AHMEDABAD: Successfully battled Covid and are safe at home again? If you have unused Covid medicines, they could prove a lifesaver for someone else, especially given the shortages. A number of institutions including the women entrepreneurs’ body, YFLO (Young FICCI Ladies’ Organisation), Ahmedabad chapter, and Gujarat Technological University (GTU) have launched independent initiatives to collect unused Covid medicines from recovered patients’ homes. The medicines are distributed to the needy in urban as well as rural areas.When the pandemic is raging and the load of Covid cases has shifted from metro and urban areas to semi-urban and rural belts, a shortage of resources — particularly medicines — has hit the state. To help alleviate the problem, GTU has roped in students from its NSS (National Service Scheme) units to help collect spare Covid medicines and distribute them to the needy.“About 142 units have been formed, attached to different engineering and diploma colleges affiliated to GTU across the state,” said Navin Sheth, the vice-chancellor of GTU. “Across these units, 10,500 students will work as volunteers to collect Covid medicines from door to door in their neighbourhoods and surrounding areas.”These medicines will be deposited at the units and sorted based on expiry dates and the type of formulations, Sheth said. “Based on requirements, these medicines will be sent to various villages and slums,” he said. Students and faculty members from GTU’s pharmacy colleges will supervise the sorting process at each unit so that no expired medicine or spoilt one is delivered. The boxes will be sanitized so that those transporting the medicines do not get infected. Doctors in different villages will volunteer to scan the medicines, according to GTU officials.YFLO, Ahmedabad, has initiated a similar project. Supriya Jindal, the chairperson of the body, said: “Initially we launched a drive to collect medicines from our members and the response was very good.” She went on to say: “We managed to collect five bags of medicines. We sorted and distributed them through an NGO to slums in different parts of Ahmedabad.” After the encouraging response, the initiative was expanded.