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There has been an emergency of medic brokers who get from us and sell to Ugandans in need by four times the price. This is wrong in all aspects the Executive Director of Oxygas lashed out as he blamed some people who were taking advantage of the situation at hand to enrich themselves.
In these tough Covid-19 pandemic times, Oxygas LTD has given immense hope to patients and Ugandans at large through affordable oxygen for all.There has been an emergency of medic brokers who get from us and sell to Ugandans in need by four times the price. This is wrong in all aspects the Executive Director of Oxygas lashed out as he blamed some people who were taking advantage of the situation at hand to enrich themselves.
It’s no secret that Uganda is running short of medical oxygen as the east African country grapples with the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.
Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, said in an interview with media on Monday that there was a high demand of oxygen due to the surge in numbers of COVID-19 patients in High Dependency Units and Intensive Care Units (ICU) across the country.
“Yes, it is true we have shortage of oxygen in the country, and that is why we are trying to get more oxygen plants,” said Atwine. Media reported over the weekend that medical oxygen was running out in several districts across the country amid the second wave of the novel coronavirus in the country.
“We are working on the procurement of more (oxygen) plants, possibly 10 that can give us huge amounts of oxygen at a go. But that is quite a journey,” said Atwine. Meanwhile, Godfrey Baterana, executive director of Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital, said the demand of oxygen by COVID-19 patients had outpaced oxygen plants manufacturing capacity.
“You find (a COVID-19) patient requiring 70 liters of oxygen per minute and yet a normal patient in a normal ICU requires between one and ten,” said Baterana. Till Monday, Uganda had registered 63,099 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 434 deaths, according to official data.
As the country continues to find means of navigating through this deadly wave of the pandemic, Oxygas has given hope to Ugandans by providing affordable oxygen to hospitals across the country. Since the second wave of the pandemic hit, Oxygas has been the only private entity that has full capacity to produce medical oxygen.
According to the MD Rajesh Kumar, the company has capacity of filling 900 cylinders with each cylinder filled in 45 minutes.