''To address the acute shortage of oxygen being faced by India in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, L'Oréal announced its financial support to the French government's initiative to provide oxygen generators, liquid oxygen containers and specialised respirators to the country.

''In addition, L'Oréal is working with a network of NGO's across India to provide critical oxygen equipment, medical supplies, food, education and hygiene kits across the country,'' L'Oréal said in a statement.

L'Oréal said it is working with NGOs, including GiveIndia, United Way Mumbai, Hemkunt Foundation, ActionAid Association and the Akshay Patra Foundation.

According to the company, it will provide oxygen concentrators and cylinders to hospitals in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and distribute over 1,00,000 units of sanitisers to government hospitals, police forces, municipal corporations, and to those on the frontline of the pandemic across the country.

''We will also give care packages to approximately 2,000 nurses who have become the primary caregiver and family to many,'' the company said.

L'Oréal has also partnered the Akshay Patra Foundation to provide 4,000 food and education kits for children and Action Aid India to provide women with livelihood training and infrastructure support to restart their livelihoods.

Amit Jain, Managing Director of L'Oréal India said, ''we are deeply concerned with the severity of the second wave of the pandemic and committed to working closely with the government and our NGO partners to support the country's collective efforts to fight the crisis''.

L'Oréal also said its employees will contribute toward COVID relief to an NGO of their choice via the fundraising platform GiveIndia.