Nkechinyere Ewa
The Ebonyi State Government has called for urgent measures to strengthen the state’s medical oxygen system, warning that oxygen infrastructure alone cannot guarantee effective healthcare delivery without adequately trained personnel to operate and maintain the facilities.
Patricia Obila, the state Deputy Governor, made the call yesterday in Abakaliki while representing Governor Francis Nwifuru at the First Stakeholders’ Engagement and Co-Creation Workshop on the Medical Oxygen Economy, organised under the EQUI-RESP Africa Research Project.
The workshop was hosted by David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, with support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), UK.
Obila reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to improving healthcare delivery and strengthening collaboration with development partners to build a sustainable medical oxygen system.
She disclosed that oxygen plants had been commissioned at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA), Onicha General Hospital and Mater Hospital, describing the development as part of government’s efforts to improve access to medical oxygen across the state.
However, the Deputy Governor stressed that the availability of oxygen plants must be matched with the technical expertise required to ensure their effective operation and maintenance.
«“If you have something and you don’t have the technical know-how to manage it, it is as good as having nothing,” she said.»
Obila therefore urged participants at the workshop to critically assess the functionality of existing oxygen facilities, identify gaps in infrastructure and human capacity, and develop practical recommendations that would guide further government intervention.
She said the government was ready to support evidence-based recommendations capable of improving the efficiency, sustainability and accessibility of medical oxygen services in Ebonyi State.
The Deputy Governor’s position came against the backdrop of growing concerns over Nigeria’s medical oxygen capacity, particularly the lessons exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, when oxygen shortages highlighted critical weaknesses in the country’s healthcare infrastructure.
The workshop brought together stakeholders from government, healthcare institutions, academia and development organisations to examine challenges confronting the medical oxygen sector and co-create context-specific solutions for building a stronger oxygen economy.
Jesse Uneke (professor), the Nigerian and State Lead/Principal Investigator of the EQUI-RESP Africa Research Project and Vice Chancellor of DUFUHS, said the engagement was designed to bridge gaps between research, policy and practice while improving access to life-saving oxygen.
He said medical oxygen remained an under-emphasised component of Nigeria’s health system despite its critical role in saving lives, noting that challenges surrounding access and administration of oxygen contribute to more than 600,000 deaths annually in the country.
Uneke explained that the second phase of the EQUI-RESP project focuses on medical oxygen and the development of a stronger oxygen economy within healthcare facilities.
Robinson Onoh, the Chief Medical Director of AE-FUTHA, commended the Ebonyi State Government for supporting the establishment of oxygen production facilities, noting that the state previously lacked such infrastructure.
He stressed that sustaining local oxygen production and ensuring the functionality of oxygen plants would be critical to building a more resilient healthcare system.
The stakeholders consequently called for stronger collaboration among government, healthcare institutions, researchers and development partners, alongside sustained investment in infrastructure, technical manpower and local oxygen production