LifeBank, a healthcare technology and logistics company has reiterated its resolve to saving lives with the supply of medical oxygen especially to the vulnerable and underserved communities in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that the firm recently launched “AirCO, an agile scalable oxygen plant in Nasarawa State, to scale up production and supply of medical oxygen; and improve the quality of healthcare that hospitals currently provide within Nasarawa and nearby regions.
AirCo is a data-driven oxygen plant using technology to supply medical oxygen and was established in partnership with Oxygen Hub. LifeBank says its goal is to use the technical innovation to save the lives of the most vulnerable.
Temie Giwa – Tubosun, chief executive officer, LifeBank, speaking during the unveiling held on the 13th of July in Orozo, said the lack of access to much needed supplies leads to avoidable deaths.
Read Also: Lifebank aims to scale up oxygen supply as it unveils ‘AirCO’
She noted that over 750,000 Nigerians die yearly from the lack of oxygen in hospitals, while informing that AirCo has the capacity to produce up to 700 cubic meters of oxygen, which is about 100 cylinders everyday.
Giwa – Tubosun said Airco will bridge the huge gap between demand and supply of medical oxygen in hospitals and save more lives.
In order to ensure that all citizens especially the rural poor are not denied this life-saving medical oxygen, Giwa – Tubosun said LifeBank is working with the Nigerian government, private sector,
international development agencies to ensure it is affordable for all.
She also disclosed that With the plant being located so close to the people means the cost of distribution has already been significantly reduced, further making it more affordable for Nigerians.
” Everybody deserves life, Every breath matters, everybody deserves life. That’s what we are all about at Life bank.
“Lifebank believes that with AirCO, all the 29 million people in Nasarawa State and the other states in the north Central region will have a steady supply of oxygen to cater to critically ill patients in hospitals”, she said.
Project manager, AirCo, Ogheneruona owebor noted that the Federal Capital Territory already has up to five oxygen plants, hence the need to establish a plant in Nasarawa state to serve communities and other North Central states that have limited access.
Effeson Hailemichael, chief executive officer Oxygen Hub, said the launch of this plant in Nasarawa state is a start of bigger things to come in terms of oxygen supply in Nigeria.
Hailemichael informed that the firm plans to establish up to 50 Oxygen plants across the country and some of them are already in the pipeline.
While noting that Nigeria is the second country where it has launched an oxygen plant after Kenya in Africa, Hailemichael informed that the larger goal of the firm is to establish up to 100 oxygen generation plant across the continent.
After Nigeria, Hailemichael said the next stop is Ethiopia in the coming weeks.
He revealed that the idea of establishing Oxygen plants was birthed during the pandemic which exposed the gap between supply and demand for medical oxygen.
He said even prior to COVID-19, the gap in the Sub-Saharan Africa was over 90 percent, which spurred its investment in Oxygen plant.
Ifeanyi Abali, case management lead, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reiterated that the provision of oxygen remains the mainstay in the management of severe and critical cases of COVID-19 cases, but regrets that oxygen has been insufficient in Nigeria even as the country is on the throes of a 3rd wave of the pandemic.
Abali said oxygen sufficiency needs to be increased to reduce mortality as a critical component in prevention and response strategy.
He said though the federal government has led the expansion of more oxygen plant across the country to 38 sites mainly in Federal Health facilities in all the states of the federation, it was still insufficient for a country of over 200 million persons.
Abali therefore expressed delight over government’s partnership with the private sector to address this problem.
He said, “One of the gains of this pandemic has been the closer collaboration with the private sector to improve the health security of the country. It is with great delight we welcome the establishment of this oxygen plant. This effort is not just for the COVID-19 response but also strengthen the health system for other medical conditions for survival of patients with critical care needs in terms of sustainable and affordable oxygen needs.”
