Oxygen shortages endangering half a million Covid patients every day in poorest countries, research shows

Supplies of oxygen already constrained prior to Covid-19 and drained further by pandemic

Shortages of oxygen are endangering the lives of more than half a million Covid-19 patients every day in the world’s poorest nations, new research has shown.

Despite being vital for the effective treatment of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus, sustained access to oxygen has proven difficult in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to cost, infrastructure and logistical barriers.

According to Unitaid, a global health agency, more than half a million people in LMICs currently need 1.1 million cylinders of oxygen per day, with 25 countries currently reporting surges in demand, the majority in Africa.

Supplies of oxygen were already constrained prior to Covid-19 and have been exacerbated by the pandemic, Unitaid says.

The fallout from such issues have been clear to see in the Brazilian city of Manaus, which last month reported severe oxygen shortages among its hospitals and a subsequent large loss of life.

Jessem Orellana, from the Fiocruz-Amazonia scientific investigation institute, warned that some hospitals in the city had completely "run out of oxygen" and become "a type of suffocation chamber" for patients.

Unitaid and Wellcome, a global-facing health charity based in the UK, have contributed £14.1m in funding to help launch a Covid-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce, which is also being run by the World Health Organisation.

The taskforce said it needs a total of £63.5m to address urgent key challenges in oxygen access and delivery in up to 20 countries, including Malawi, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

This first set of countries has been identified based on assessments coordinated by the WHO.

Over the next 12 months, an estimated £1.1bn in funding is needed to help tackle the globe’s oxygen shortages, organisers have said.

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.

“The Oxygen Taskforce will help drive oxygen scale-up through further innovation, financing and capacitation.”

Dr Philippe Duneton, executive director of Unitaid, called for a “truly global response” to the mounting emergency.

“It’s more vital than ever that we come together to build on the work that has already been done, with a firm commitment to helping the worst-affected countries as quickly as possible,” he said.

Many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia are struggling to keep pace with a surging second wave of the pandemic, with health systems and services being pushed to breaking point once again.

In Malawi, where the number of cases is doubling ever 32 days, major hospitals are now running out of oxygen, with demand 3.5 times higher than before the crisis.

In Tanzania, there is an urgent need for 3,650 oxygen cylinders to significantly increase access to life-saving treatment across the country.

Latin America has also been hard hit. Demand for oxygen has reportedly increased by 300 per cent in Peru, while supplies are said to be growing scarce in Mexico, which has the third highest death count in the world.

Kevin Watkins, chief executive of Save the Children UK, said: “Vaccines are the light at the end of a long tunnel but we need oxygen to keep people alive long enough to get through the tunnel.

“Hospitals and clinics are running out of oxygen as an unstoppable second wave of the pandemic strikes families with no chance of being vaccinated in time.

“Let’s be clear: oxygen is the life-or-death medicine for Covid-19 treatment, and lives that could be saved are being lost.”

The new taskforce will bring together key organisations that have been working to improve access to oxygen since the start of the pandemic including Unicef, the Global Fund, World Bank, and Save the Children.