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 Global demand for medical oxygen has surged with the COVID-19
pandemic, and many countries have experienced desperate shortages.
This and a lack of other equipment mean Africans seriously ill from
COVID-19 are more likely to die than patients elsewhere, according
to a study published in May by medical journal The Lancet, which
cited data from 64 hospitals in 10 countries.
The new plant in Mogadishu was purchased for 282,000 euro ($240,700)
from Turkey by the Hormuud Salaam Foundation, established by the
country's largest telecoms company, Hormuud.
It will be installed at the Banadir Maternity and Children Hospital,
where the foundation has also funded the repair of its COVID-19
ward.
The wing and the hospital's outer wall were partially destroyed
during a nearby attack in July by Islamist al-Shabaab militants, who
are fighting to overthrow the government.
Medical oxygen production needs experts to operate and maintain
equipment. It also requires reliable electricity and water supplies,
which most Somali public hospitals do not have.
Other countries, such as India, suffered severe oxygen shortages
during surges in COVID-19 infections, forcing desperate families of
patients to pay exorbitant prices for cylinders.
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 "One cylinder of oxygen usually
costs around $50 in Somalia but can reach up to
$400 or $500 (at private hospitals) because of
the shortage," said Abdullahi Nur Osman, CEO of
Hormuud's foundation. He said
the oxygen will be distributed among the public hospitals in the
capital Mogadishu free of charge.
As of Wednesday, Somalia had reported nearly 20,000 COVID-19 cases
and 1,100 deaths, according to the World Health Organization, but
figures could be far higher due to inadequate testing and unreported
deaths.
Only 1% of Somalia's 15 million citizens are fully vaccinated,
reflecting inequities in vaccine distribution that the World Health
Organization warns will prolong the pandemic, which has already
claimed nearly 5 million lives.
($1 = 1.1714 euros)
(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Additional reporting by Abdirahman
Hussein; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Katharine Houreld and
Raissa Kasolowsky)
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