Build Health International (BHI) has announced investments from the Bill & Melinda Gates and Skoll foundations to repair non-functioning oxygen infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and build local capacity to maintain high-quality oxygen-delivery systems.

Access to medical oxygen is critical to the treatment of a range of conditions, and especially urgent in the face of continued COVID-19 outbreaks, when oxygen therapy is often the primary treatment for critically ill patients. The repairs are part of BHI’s “Find and Fix” approach, which involves identifying and assessing the conditions of existing oxygen infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in sub-Saharan Africa. To that end, BHI will partner with global health leaders and the Every Breath Counts Coalition, a public-private partnership focused on advocacy, global coordination, and support to help LMICs reduce pneumonia and oxygen-related deaths, including from COVID-19.

“In many areas of the Global North, COVID-19 has pushed medical oxygen systems to the brink; in countries with more limited health infrastructure, current capacity has been pushed beyond the breaking point,” said BHI co-founder and director Jim Ansara. “BHI has been deeply invested in the work of expanding medical oxygen access, and we are so grateful to the Gates and Skoll foundations for their deep support and advocacy of our work to strengthen these vital systems so everyone, everywhere can access critical care.”

(Photo Credit: Getty Images/sudok1)