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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening the state’s healthcare system through improved medical oxygen infrastructure, technical capacity and collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
The Governor, represented by his Deputy, Princess Patricia Obila, stated this in Abakaliki during the First Stakeholders’ Engagement and Co-Creation Workshop on the Medical Oxygen Economy organised under the EQUI-RESP Africa Research Project and 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 said the state government recognised the critical role of medical oxygen in saving lives and had taken practical steps to improve access to oxygen by establishing production facilities in key healthcare institutions.
According to her, oxygen plants had been commissioned at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA), Onicha General Hospital and Mater Hospital.
She, however, stressed that the provision of infrastructure alone was not sufficient to guarantee effective and sustainable oxygen delivery without qualified personnel to operate, maintain and manage the facilities.
“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.
The Deputy Governor urged stakeholders participating in the engagement to critically assess existing oxygen facilities across the state, identify gaps in infrastructure and human capacity, and develop practical recommendations that could guide further government intervention.
She assured participants of the state government’s readiness to support evidence-based measures aimed at building a more effective, reliable and sustainable medical oxygen economy in Ebonyi.
Earlier, the Nigerian and State Lead/Principal Investigator of the EQUI-RESP project and Vice Chancellor of DUFUHS, Prof. Jesse Uneke, said the workshop was designed to bring together key stakeholders in the medical oxygen sector to identify existing challenges and develop context-specific solutions to improve access to oxygen and healthcare delivery.
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Uneke described medical oxygen as a critical but often under-emphasised component of Nigeria’s healthcare system, noting that challenges associated with access to and administration of oxygen contribute to more than 600,000 deaths annually in the country, many of which he said were preventable.
He explained that the EQUI-RESP project had entered its second phase, with a focus on medical oxygen and the development of a stronger oxygen economy within healthcare facilities.
According to him, the initiative seeks to generate evidence capable of bridging the gap between research, policy and healthcare practice.
Uneke recalled that the first phase of the project focused on respiratory health interventions in industrial communities in Ebonyi State, including the quarry site in Onueke, Abakaliki rice mill and timber market, where between 300 and 400 people benefited from free diagnosis, treatment and respiratory support.
He said Nigeria was one of five African countries selected for the EQUI-RESP project, alongside Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, South Africa and Cameroon, with research centres established in Ebonyi and Lagos.
He attributed Ebonyi’s selection to its conducive research environment and the state government’s commitment to healthcare development.
Also speaking, the Chief Medical Director of AE-FUTHA, Prof. Robinson Onoh, described the initiative as a multi-country and multi-centre project aimed at addressing critical health challenges.
Onoh commended Governor Nwifuru for supporting the establishment of oxygen production facilities in Ebonyi, noting that the state previously lacked such infrastructure.
He recalled that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of Nigeria’s healthcare system to oxygen shortages, stressing the need to strengthen local oxygen production and ensure the functionality and sustainability of existing oxygen plants.
The workshop brought together stakeholders from government, healthcare institutions, academia, development organisations and other relevant sectors to deliberate on strategies for strengthening Nigeria’s medical oxygen economy and improving access to life-saving oxygen services.
