The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) has announced a $25 million commitment from the Bill & Melinda Gates and ELMA foundations to help nine governments build comprehensive medical oxygen ecosystems.

The program will assist governments in providing medical oxygen care to patients in Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Laos PDR, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda. Oxygen is an essential treatment for severe COVID-19 and is used to assist newborns in respiratory distress; adults with sepsis or congenital heart disease, tuberculosis, malaria, or HIV; anyone with chronic respiratory conditions; and patients requiring surgery. A $10 million funding gap remains in the project, and more than $60 million is needed to implement the program in 15 additional countries.

Before the pandemic, much of the world took access to oxygen for granted. However, oxygen shortages during the past two years—and their tragic consequences—have changed that attitude. According to CHAI, 75 percent of people hospitalized for COVID can survive with oxygen therapy alone.

“To make medical oxygen accessible to everyone, regardless of where they live, we must focus on creating long-term sustainable systems,” said CHAI chief executive Neil Buddy Shah. “That means we need more training, better equipment maintenance, and more oxygen plants. This new funding will help our partner governments address the current gaps, better prepare for future pandemics, and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and adults.”