Africa's First Regional Oxygen Production Network is Extended into Tanzania by Unitaid and Its Partners

Posted on : Thursday , 3rd April 2025

Tanzania will now be included in Unitaid's East African Program of Oxygen Access (EAPOA), a US$22 million project aimed at creating sustainable medical oxygen supplies throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Tanzania is now beginning the second phase of the initiative, which was first introduced in Kenya in October 2024. Today's formal ground breaking ceremony in Dar es Salaam was attended by His Excellency Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa stated, "Increasing local oxygen production is an essential step towards ensuring no patient goes without this lifesaving resource. By increasing our supply's self-sufficiency and decreasing our need on other sources, this investment improves our capacity to satisfy rising demand. Building long-term capacity in our region is more important than ever. To increase access to medical oxygen in Tanzania and the surrounding nations, we applaud this partnership with Unitaid, CHAI, TOL Gases Plc and other important partners."

Despite being a vital and life-saving medication, medical oxygen is still in short supply in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Less than 10% of what they require is available in some nations, endangering people. In addition to supporting maternal care, surgery and emergency treatment, oxygen is essential for the treatment of advanced HIV, severe tuberculosis, pneumonia, COVID-19 and malaria. In order to close this gap and satisfy the increasing demand, both short-term and long-term solutions are needed.

The EAPOA is building supply lines utilising a hub-and-spoke strategy and building new oxygen producing plants around the region. Wider access is ensured by central production sites (hubs) that transport oxygen to smaller facilities and farther-flung places (spokes). In order to establish important centres for the manufacturing and distribution of liquid medicinal oxygen, the first phase started with the development of oxygen production facilities in Mombasa and Nairobi, Kenya.

This next phase involves the expansion of production capacity within an expanding network of liquid oxygen plants, also known as air separation units, strategically positioned to reach underserved communities. The company is TOL Gases Plc, a mid-size oxygen supplier in Tanzania, working with regional partners and Tanzania's Ministry of Health. This collaboration guarantees that facilities will help Tanzania as well as Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia, among other neighbouring nations, thereby expanding access to life-saving oxygen throughout the area.

Daniel Warungu, managing director of TOL Gases Limited, stated, "At TOL Gases, we believe that access to medical oxygen is not a privilege, it is a fundamental right to an essential medicine. We are honoured to lead this groundbreaking collaboration to increase oxygen production and distribution throughout Tanzania and its surrounding nations."

Over 60 tonnes of oxygen will be added daily as a result of the firms in Tanzania and Kenya working together to triple regional production capacity. This expansion will guarantee long-term sustainability and a stronger regional oxygen market by lowering oxygen prices by up to 27% and allowing thousands more patients to get life-saving treatment each month.

An estimated 990,000 children in Kenya and Tanzania alone are thought to experience serious illnesses each year that requires medical oxygen. The EAPOA will greatly increase access to oxygen by boosting production and lowering costs, which will help save lives and fortify healthcare systems throughout the region.

Unitaid Executive Director Dr. Philippe Duneton stated, "Unitaid is dedicated to supporting initiatives that drive long-term impact. We are making sure that medical oxygen becomes an integrated, self-sustaining component of the healthcare system in East and Southern Africa by concentrating on environmental sustainability rivalry in the market, and affordability."

Using a hybrid finance strategy, the EAPOA combines grant funding from Japan and Canada with possible MedAccess assistance through volume guarantees where suitable. Deployment will be spearheaded by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), in partnership with PATH, the Tanzanian government and other development partners.

As stated by CHAI Tanzania Country Director Esther Mtumbuka, "Increasing regional oxygen production is a crucial step towards stronger, more resilient health systems. We are constructing a locally driven, sustainable oxygen supply, one that guarantees facilities have dependable, cost-effective access both now and in the future by collaborating with Unitaid and the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and utilising creative financing."

An important point was highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic: oxygen needs to be an ongoing aspect of healthcare infrastructure rather than merely an emergency treatment. A greater emphasis on local-driven solutions that can address long-term demands and localised production is necessary to ensure sustainable access.