By Spy Uganda
Kampala: The United States through United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced that they have committed a sum of $3.5 million (Shs.12.4 billion) to Uganda to boost the country’s Covid-19 fight with medical oxygen and other supplies.
“Medical oxygen is an essential, life-saving treatment for COVID-19 patients. To make sure that oxygen saves Ugandan lives, the United States through USAID just contributed $3.5M (UGX 12.4B) for oxygen & other supplies. The U.S is committed to supporting Uganda’s COVID response.” U.S Mission Uganda confirmed in a tweet.
Medical oxygen is an essential, life-saving treatment for #COVID19 patients. To make sure that #oxygen saves #Ugandan lives, the United States through @USAID just contributed $3.5M (UGX 12.4B) for oxygen & other supplies. The 🇺🇸 is committed to supporting 🇺🇬’s COVID response. pic.twitter.com/gj3vLGpXG4
— U.S. Mission Uganda (@usmissionuganda) July 16, 2021
The contribution comes at a critical time when Uganda is struggling with the second wave of the pandemic and situation has worsened by shortage of oxygen supplies needed by critical patients in Intensive Care Units in various health facilities.
According to the Ministry of Health in Uganda, cumulative confirmed cases now stand at 89,974 indicating a 8.9% positivity rate with 66,080 total recoveries while the Country’s death toll is at 2,324.
Cumulatively 1,413,482 have so far been tested and 848 patients are currently on admission with 1,087,152 vaccine doses administered.
According to health experts, a critical Covid-19 patient requires between 3-5 oxygen cylinders. However, due to the aggressive surge in critical Covid-19 patients, health facilities have struggled to meet the increased demand.
During his national address on 18th June, President Yoweri Museveni noted that the national daily oxygen consumption stood at 3,000 cylinders per day, where each cylinder is 6,800 litres.
The president warned that the demand of the life saving gas would increase nearly 9- fold for the forthcoming weeks unless Ugandans followed the Standard Operating Procedures as put in place by the Ministry of Health to curb the spread.
“With the estimated Covid-19 patient increase in the coming weeks, the daily oxygen consumption will rise to 25,800 cylinders per day in one month, unless we change the course.” Museveni warned.
The president, recently announced plans to start refilling 25,000 oxygen cylinders daily to meet the rising demand. He said regional and national referral hospitals would refill the cylinders through installed oxygen plants countrywide to help meet the oxygen demand.
