South Sudan has installed its first medical-grade oxygen plant in its bid to step up efforts to combat the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The plant, at the Juba Teaching Hospital in the capital city of Juba, has a daily generation capacity of 2 500 litres to refill about 72 D-type oxygen cylinders. According to the AfDB, the US$980 000 facility will serve as a centralised production and supply hub for remote locations. It has also been provided with 240 cylinders and four years’ worth of service and accessories.

Elizabeth Achuei, South Sudan’s Minister of Health, says the plant will improve the country’s ‘preparedness for oxygen’, adding that oxygen will no longer be imported in order to meet local needs. ‘This means oxygen will be supplied to facilities on time and more lives will be saved.’

14 September 2021
Image: WHO South Sudan