UK-funded Unitaid has announced a Sh2.8 billion investment to support three Kenyan and Tanzanian oxygen manufacturers in establishing Africa’s first liquid oxygen regional manufacturing plants.
The initiative aims at increasing access to medical oxygen in East and Southern Africa region.
Production facilities will be established in Kenya and Tanzania.
“This is Africa’s first regional manufacturing approach to increasing access to medical oxygen. The programme aims to expand medical oxygen production by 300 per cent in East Africa and reduce oxygen prices by up to 27 per cent," a statement from the British High Commission, Nairobi.
The office said this will make oxygen more affordable for healthcare systems across the region and enable treatment of thousands of additional patients each month.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Harry Kimtai, said Kenya’s drive towards universal health coverage requires uninterrupted access to all health products and technologies including medical oxygen.
“We are delighted as the Ministry of Health to note that this new liquid oxygen manufacturing plant will boost availability all around the country and not just the Coast region. I congratulate Unitaid and all their partners for making funding available and providing technical support to make this possible,” he said.
Unitaid executive director Dr. Philippe Duneton said the facility in Mombasa will be the beginning of a larger effort to transform oxygen access across Africa.
“Medical oxygen is critical for saving lives yet too many health facilities in this region struggle with access. By working together with Kenyan and Tanzanian manufacturers and other partners, we are ensuring that oxygen is no longer a luxury but a basic right for all patients, especially in times of critical need,” Duneton said.
UK’s Deputy Development Director, Eduarda Mendonca-Gray, hailed the collaborative efforts of partners towards the "essential lifesaving initiative".
“Medical oxygen is a lifesaving essential medicine without a substitute. Oxygen is also vital for maternal and new-born survival as well as surgery, emergency and critical care. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure accessibility for all,” Mendonca-Gray said.
Over the next decade, the initiative is envisioned to save up to 154,000 lives in Kenya and Tanzania alone, addressing life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia, preterm birth complications, and surgical emergencies.