Kenya is competing for part of the Sh160 billion ($1.6 billion) the World Health Organization is raising to finance oxygen in poor countries for Covid-19 patients.
The WHO said Sh9 billion ($90 million) is needed immediately by about 20 countries, such as Malawi, Nigeria and Afghanistan, which face severe shortages of medical oxygen.
At least Sh2 billion ($20 million) of this has already been raised through contributions by Unitaid and UK-based charity Wellcome.
The first beneficiaries were identified by the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.
“The overall funding need over the next 12 months is estimated by ACT-A to be $1.6 billion (Sh160 billion),” WHO said in a statement.
The Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is a global collaboration launched last year to improve access to Covid-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said on Monday Kenya is also facing a severe shortage of medical oxygen.
Kagwe on Monday said Kenya now 880 tonnes of medical oxygen, up from 410 tonnes last year.
“The situation at the moment is such that the industry is completely stretched,” he said.
Medical oxygen is a regulated commodity that must be at least 82 per cent pure, free from any contamination and generated by an oil-free compressor.
It can come from oxygen concentrators and cylinders.
Concentrators are the cheapest way to supply oxygen, but they require a functioning infrastructure with reliable power supply and regular servicing.
Kenya has at least 70 oxygen plants, most of them not working because they do not even have spare parts.
Image: File
The more expensive supply cylinders – each costs about Sh40,000 – require neither a power source nor costly maintenance.
However, Kagwe said more than 20,000 cylinders are lying idle around the country.
“These cylinders are expensive, the international market is obviously very squeezed and supply is a problem. We have asked for them under the Public Health Act so please return these cylinders as it is a matter of life and death at the moment,” the CS said.
Late last month, WHO also announced it has formed a Covid-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce that will measure oxygen needs in developing countries, connect them to financiers and support procurement and supply of oxygen.
Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said, “Oxygen is life-saving and it is imperative to move faster to scale-up holistically with patient-centred, end-to-end solutions that improve clinical outcomes.”
Henrietta Fore, executive director of Unicef, added, “Addressing the oxygen gap will not only help with Covid-19 treatment in countries losing far too many saveable lives.
“It will also help to improve health systems and health outcomes beyond Covid-19, That includes the many newborns and children who require oxygen to survive.”
The oxygen taskforce brings together key organisations that have been working to improve access to oxygen since the start of the pandemic. They include WHO, Unicef, the Global Fund, World Bank, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Path, the Every Breath Counts coalition and Save the Children. BY THE STAR