Accessing medical oxygen was a major challenge during the pandemic. The key, and often fatal, complication of Covid is depletion of oxygen in the blood. A study of 64 hospitals in 10 African countries found that half of the Covid patients who died never received oxygen. Since the pandemic, increasing the continent’s oxygen security has become a priority for African governments and global health organisations to prepare for future health emergencies, but also to help patients with other serious conditions. On Wednesday, the member states of the World Health Organization are expected to vote on a resolution at the World Health Assembly, which – if adopted – will urge all its members to develop national action plans to increase access to medical oxygen.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN