UNICEF supports 26 oxygen plants and provides over 4,000 oxygen concentrators

13

Oct

PRAKSHI RAWAT

UNICEF is supporting the building of 9 oxygen generating units among hospitals in Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura as half of an intensified drive to relevant features to supplemental oxygen testing.

One of the pressing challenges facing India as it fights the 2nd wave of COVID-19 is the lack of oxygen for treating humans with respiratory illnesses. UNICEF is assisting hospitals in Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura with the implementation of the first 9 oxygen generating facilities as part of initiatives to boost access to oxygen care, testing and screening. This is part of a broader proposal to supply 26 oxygen plants to medical centers, Jamnagar is a city in Gujarat.

UNICEF continues to provide emergency assistance to India's COVID-19 outbreak response by delivering more saving supplies. Over 4,500 oxygen concentrators and 200 RT-PCR test equipment were either supplied or are being delivered and the very first nine of 26 oxygen production plants are indeed being built.

"In India, the fatal COVID-19 pandemic has large point sources strain on healthcare resources. The urgent need for oxygen remains at the center of the crisis. "Oxygen support in time could be the difference between life and death for those suffering from severe COVID-19," stated Dr. Yasmin Ali Hassan, UNICEF Representative in India. "UNICEF's prompt help in providing oxygen production plants and over 4,500 oxygen concentrators will help to save lives at this critical moment, thanks to our donors and supporters all throughout the world." We can respond to the present situation as well as a variety of long-term health needs by developing oxygen systems.”

"UNICEF's immediate support in delivering oxygen plants or over 4,500 oxygen concentrators will help to save lives at this critical moment, thanks to our donors and supporters all throughout the world." We can respond to the present situation as well as a variety of long-term health demands by building oxygen systems.”

In the next months, UNICEF will purchase an additional 14 oxygen cylinder filling plant

plants. Piped oxygen is transported directly to the patient's hospital bed in a plant. It will be used to treat severe COVID-19 cases, sick children and children with influenza, as well as to support women dealing with birth problems and keep patients stable through surgery.

UNICEF is also providing 4,650 life-saving oxygen concentrators to Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal and other countries as part of the Accessing to COVID-19 Tools Accelerated (ACT-A) initiative.

The concentrate takes in air flow and converts it into a continuous supply of oxygen. In Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, another 3,000 oxygen concentrators were earlier acquired and are in service. In addition, 10 states have got 512 High Flow Nasal Tubings.

UNICEF also gives the necessary supplies and services:

UNICEF has acquired and supplied over 238,272 pieces of refrigeration equipment, including walk-in coolers, walk-in freezers, ice enclosed refrigerators, deep freezers, solar high torque fridges, cold boxes, vaccine carriers, including freeze-free vaccine carriers, and voltage absorbers, to support COVID-19 vaccinations in India and routine vaccination for children in the long term. Through the addition of 1389 cold chain points, this equipment increases vaccine storage at the global, state and local level, as well as in 523 districts.

UNICEF, in collaboration with both the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), has built 85 RT-PCR testing machines in 73 facilities across 25 states to help the government's test suite. A total of 200 extra machines will be delivered. A total of 100 RNA extraction devices are also being procured to screen incoming people for fever, 74 mass thermal detectors were purchased, delivered and positioned in 24 airports and 11 seaports.

UNICEF supplied 8.5 million triple-layered masks and 1.75 million face shields across India in 2021. Protective equipment is crucial for officials to keep providing important services in villages and hospitals.

UNICEF is working in collaboration with state and local governments and partners to ensure that all children who have been unattended or orphaned as a result of COVID-19 are helped in tracing their relatives such as grandparents are given advice or are taken to shield homes and disclosed to the national CHILDLINE.

According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development 577 youngsters have lost their parents to COVID-19 from 1 April to 25 May, 2021. UNICEF also partners with state governments to prepare guidelines and recommendations for children who already have lost one or both parents or if their mothers are in the hospital and the children require necessary help. UNICEF helps caseworkers develop skills they need to support vulnerable kids.