More than a year into the pandemic, global health agencies have set up a taskforce to address the vast unmet demand for medical oxygen.

The global pandemic response mechanism, the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), has been slow to take up the issue. During the first year of the pandemic, ACT-A and its donors have concentrated overwhelmingly on developing new vaccines.

Other tools like oxygen and personal protective equipment failed to generate the same level of interest and engagement.
A spate of recent media reports about oxygen shortages in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru has documented an increasingly desperate situation for hospitals, and patients and their families.

Last week’s announcement by Wellcome and Unitaid follows repeated calls from health charities and researchers for ACT-A to deal more seriously with the oxygen crisis.

The first indication that oxygen was being given higher priority came on Feb 9, 2021, when ACT-A presented a new budget and strategy. Oxygen was moved out of the health system pillar and into the therapeutics pillar, under the responsibility of the Wellcome Trust and UNITAID.

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