Medical experts have called for improved availability and access to medical oxygen in hospitals across the country to address persistent gaps in Nigeria’s medical oxygen value chain.
The experts made the call on Monday in Abakaliki during the First Stakeholders’ Engagement Event and Co-Creation Workshop on the Medical Oxygen Economy.
The workshop was organised by the EQUI-RESP Africa Research Project and hosted by the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS) in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
The programme was supported by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and brought together stakeholders to discuss strategies for strengthening Nigeria’s medical oxygen system.
Prof. Jesse Uneke, Nigeria and State Lead/Principal Investigator of the EQUI-RESP Africa Research Project, said Nigeria loses more than 600,000 lives annually to challenges associated with the administration and availability of medical oxygen.
Uneke, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of DUFUHS, said many of the deaths linked to inadequate access to oxygen were preventable.
He emphasised the need for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to address gaps in the medical oxygen value chain and improve health outcomes.
According to him, there had been no adequate platform for stakeholders in the medical oxygen space to collectively examine evidence and develop context-specific strategies for addressing the challenges.
“That is why, in this phase of this project, we have decided to start with this kind of stakeholders’ engagement.
“I am excited that we have every key stakeholder in the medical oxygen space represented here,” he said.
Uneke explained that the first phase of the project focused on community-based respiratory health interventions in three industrial locations in Ebonyi.
The locations included the quarry industrial site in Onueke, the rice mill in Abakaliki and the timber market, where residents received respiratory health services.
He said between 300 and 400 people benefited from free treatment, including inhalers, diagnostic services and health education on respiratory conditions.
“This project has to do with respiratory health, and the idea is to come up with strategies that will lead to interventions that will improve health outcomes as far as respiratory health is concerned,” he said.
Uneke thanked the funders for selecting Nigeria as one of five African countries participating in the EQUI-RESP Africa project.
He identified the other participating countries as Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, South Africa and Cameroon, noting that Nigeria hosts research centres in Ebonyi and Lagos.
According to him, the project is strategically important because it generates evidence capable of informing policies and improving health outcomes across Africa.
He said Ebonyi was selected because of the enabling environment created by Gov. Francis Nwifuru for research and health interventions.
The vice-chancellor noted that the state had encouraged collaboration among government institutions, DUFUHS, teaching hospitals and development partners.
Uneke said the project had entered its second phase, shifting focus from community interventions to hospital-based research on medical oxygen and the oxygen economy.
“From what we have seen, this is one of the areas that is not well emphasised as far as the health sector is concerned.
“Nigeria is said to be losing more than 600,000 people yearly due to issues related to the administration of medical oxygen. The problem is that these deaths are very, very preventable,” he said.
Also speaking, the Chief Medical Director of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA), Prof. Robinson Onoh, described EQUI-RESP Africa as a multi-country and multi-centre research initiative.
Onoh commended Nwifuru for creating an enabling environment for the establishment of medical oxygen production centres in Ebonyi.
He said the state had no oxygen production facility before the current administration but had since witnessed the establishment of multiple production centres.
“I want to commend the Executive Governor of Ebonyi because before he came in as governor, there was no place oxygen was being produced in the State.
“But by the time he came and created an enabling environment, we now have areas in Ebonyi where oxygen is being produced,” he said.
Onoh said the importance of medical oxygen became more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when demand for oxygen among critically ill patients exposed existing shortages.
“Medical oxygen importance was noticed during the era of COVID. That was when it became obvious that in Nigeria, we have an issue.
“Because it was discovered that for somebody who has COVID to survive, you need oxygen. And when you now have multiple persons needing oxygen, we discovered that there was a problem,” he said.
The CMD said that one of the oxygen production centres established in the state was located within AE-FUTHA.
He commended the governor for supporting investments in oxygen infrastructure and strengthening access to critical healthcare services.
The workshop brought together key stakeholders to examine challenges relating to medical oxygen production, availability, distribution, affordability and administration, while exploring evidence-based solutions to improve Nigeria’s oxygen ecosystem.
