COVID-19 is causing a massive burden of respiratory infections around the world. It has tested health care systems to breaking point and disrupted routine health services, especially for children.
More than 6.3 million people have officially died of COVID-19 but the true death toll is likely to be far higher. This could increase ‘all-cause’ pneumonia deaths to 6.1 million in 2021. No other infection causes anywhere near this burden of death.
Disruptions to child health services could further increase pneumonia’s death toll.
Oxygen saves lives – but is still in short supply
A lack of equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and medicines is the primary reason why the COVID-19 response in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is lagging so far behind.
Nowhere is that disparity more evident than in the case of medical oxygen.
Access to oxygen has been a systemic challenge in LMICs for decades. Many countries entered the pandemic ill-equipped to respond to the massive demand for oxygen.
Oxygen is an essential medicine for the treatment of patients with severe COVID-19 but, together with steroids such as dexamethasone, it remains beyond the reach of the poorest and most vulnerable. The pandemic has revealed oxygen shortages in EVERY region of the world and high out-of-pocket costs have resulted in tragedy when patients cannot afford to pay.
The international effort to help LMICs increase oxygen supplies is coordinated by the ACT-Accelerator (ACT-A) Oxygen Emergency Taskforce, which is co-chaired by Unitaid and the Wellcome Trust.
Since its establishment in February 2021, the taskforce has provided around $US700 million worth of oxygen supplies to more than 75 countries, including liquid oxygen, oxygen plants and concentrators. It has brought the largest oxygen suppliers to the table and mobilized a network of non-profit agencies with oxygen expertise to support LMIC health ministries and governments.
The Every Breath Counts Coalition and Unitaid co-chair the advocacy and communications for the Taskforce.
The oxygen crisis is far from over. The taskforce needs $US1 billion to continue its work. G20 nations and private philanthropists are well-placed to strengthen the international oxygen response and build better health systems in countries at risk by financing the ACT-A.
Investing in oxygen will continue to save lives beyond the pandemic, especially for newborns and children with pneumonia, adults with infectious and chronic conditions, and patients requiring surgery.
COVID-19 Oxygen Needs Tracker
Oxygen access has been a long-neglected element of health system planning, despite being an essential treatment for a range of diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the role of medical oxygen as a life-saving therapy for patients struggling to breathe. In LMICs, many health facilities are unequipped to meet the rising demand.
Almost half of all hospitals in these areas have an inconsistent supply of medical oxygen, or lack it entirely. More than ever, timely and robust planning for reliable oxygen delivery is needed to protect and save lives.
The critical questions
Q: How to protect maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition services in low- and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Read answer from John Borrazzo, Senior Health Specialist at the Global Financing Facility
Q: How do we prioritize invasive versus less-invasive respiratory therapies in low-resource settings?
Q: How can international actors best support local manufacturing of WHO-recommended COVID-19 technologies, where appropriate and feasible?
PARTNERS IN ACTION
Video highlights showing how coalition partners are responding to the pandemic – here
RESOURCES
KEY RESOURCES
- EBC Oxygen Partner List
- PATH, CHAI, EBC Oxygen Needs Tracker
- EBC Oxygen Crisis ‘Risk List’ (on hold)
- EBC PSA Plant ‘Find & Fix Map’
- EBC Oxygen Price List
- EBC – The Safety of Oxygen for Medical use
- WHO Oxygen Access Scale Up
- IFRC, WHO & UNICEF Community-Based Health Care
- Access to Oxygen (A2O2) Resource Library, PATH
- Lancet COVID-19 Resource Centre
- 50 Ways to get Answers to your Oxygen Questions, EBC
DATA
FINANCING GUIDANCE
- EBC letter to LMIC Health Ministers – Accessing International Financing for Medical Oxygen Needs
- COVID-19 Allocations & Funding Request Tracker, Global Fund
EQUIPMENT
- WHO COVID-19 Manufacturers Survey
- PATH COVID-19 Facility Assessment Resources
- Respiratory Care Equipment Market Report, PATH & CHAI
- Masimo Rad-G pulse oximeter; other tools
- Africa Medical Supplies Platform
ACT ACCELERATOR (ACT-A)
TRAINING
USEFUL LINKS
STATEMENTS
- Announcement of COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce – UNITAID, Wellcome, WHO
- EBC Statement – US Government Support needed to finance COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency in LMICs
- EBC & Access to Medicine joint statement to G7 leaders on oxygen
- EBC Oxygen Statement to G20 Leaders on oxygen
- EBC Statement – COVID-19 Summit, UN General Assembly 2021
- EBC Statement – calling on G20 countries to contribute to the multilateral oxygen emergency response
- African Union/Africa CDC/EBC Statement – calling on EU to co-invest in medical oxygen in Africa, AU-EU Summit
- ACT-A Emergency Taskforce – One Year On…
- ACT-A Oxygen Stories Campaign
- EBC Open Letter: Proposed Medical Oxygen Revisions to the International Pharmacopoeia & Global Access to Oxygen Agenda
- 10 steps to increase oxygen access, save lives now & build better health systems, Response to 2nd COVID-19 Summit, EBC
- The Global Fund Replenishment & Access to Medical Oxygen, EBC
- The Lancet Global Health Commission on Oxygen Security, Launch on World Lung Day, 25 September
- The World Bank Pandemic Fund & Access to Medical Oxygen, EBC
- Oxygen Resolution a Major Milestone for Access to Medical Oxygen, Every Breath Counts, 3 February 2023
BLOGS
MEDIA
- ‘Suffering, gasping’: experts warn of oxygen shortages in poorer virus-threatened nations AFP
- Scarce medical oxygen worldwide leaves many gasping for life, AP
- In Poor Countries, Many Covid-19 Patients Are Desperate for Oxygen, NYT
- Lack of Oxygen leaves patients in Africa gasping for air, TBIJ
- Coronavirus exposes Africa’s oxygen problem, The New Humanitarian
- Winning the War Against Maternal and Child Deaths, Project Syndicate, WHO, UNICEF, UN Population Fund, Save the Children
- Africa faces catastrophe to dwarf all others, Financial Times,Kevin Watkins, Save the Children
- Africa’s Race Against COVID-19, Project Syndicate, Kevin Watkins, Save the Children
- After India, the countries on the brink of another COVID oxygen crisis, TBIJ
- Explainer- How medical oxygen is made, TBIJ
- The worldwide scramble to prevent the next oxygen shortage, Politico
- The Unequal distribution of oxygen is one of the scandals of this pandemic, The Independent, EBC & Unitaid
- Breathing New Life into Medical Oxygen, Project Syndicate, EBC
- Can COVID-19 breathe new life into medical oxygen innovations, DEVEX
USEFUL READS
Latest posts
World Pneumonia Day – Grant Winner Highlights
From Bangladesh to Zimbabwe 11 civil society organizations took on the local fight against the leading infectious killer during a 2022 World Pneumonia Day Week of Action.
23 February, 2023
You paid WHAT?
For the more than 400 million adults and children who get sick with pneumonia each year, the costs of treatment can be catastrophic - as individuals and families are forced to pay out-of-pocket for healthcare. Every Breath Counts is launching a new campaign to document these crippling costs.
09 December, 2022
Statement: World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022
How do we reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics for the treatment of pneumonia and close any remaining access gaps for pneumonia patients, especially children, who are missing out?
18 November, 2022
We all have a role to play in ending pneumonia deaths by 2030
