Earlier this month, 63 Member States and global partners came together in Dakar, Senegal, at the World Health Organization Road to Oxygen Access meeting to discuss and agree on the critical components for developing and implementing national plans for oxygen scale-up. The co-developed template will serve as a valuable resource for building appropriate, inclusive, and costed national plans to ensure oxygen availability, as well as for mobilizing needed resources and advocacy to support this endeavor.
More is needed to secure diversified financing options, provide coordinated technical assistance and training, strengthen regional networks, and advance local oxygen production and advocacy. The Global Oxygen Alliance (GO2AL) and its members are committed to working with all stakeholders to advance efforts to achieve these goals.
Following the WHO event, and as Member States gather at the 77th World Health Assembly one year after the endorsement of the WHA oxygen resolution, the Alliance has issued this call for countries to integrate medical oxygen into health system planning as a critical step in achieving universal health coverage.
