Nepal has received 982 units of 10-litre oxygen concentrators on Saturday, financed by the World Bank.
The concentrators are part of a long-term solution for augmenting Nepal’s capacities to supply therapeutic oxygen to public health facilities towards a stronger response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am very pleased that we have been able to quickly bring in the oxygen concentrators, which will be dispatched to health facilities with greatest need across all seven provinces of the country,” said Sher Bahadur Tamang, Minister for Health and Population.
“The government is working hard to strengthen availability of medical oxygen in all the public health facilities of Nepal in such a way that every Nepali citizen requiring oxygen is able to access it,” he said.
The oxygen concentrators were purchased through the UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services) under the World Bank-financed COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Project, which has also financed seven oxygen generation plants, one for each province in Nepal.
These plants will be brought in, installed and operationalized by the UNOPS in a phased manner in seven provincial hospitals in the next 6-15 weeks, according to a press statement of the World Bank.
The COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project is supporting the purchase and deployment of COVID‐19 vaccines for prioritised Nepali citizens, health system strengthening towards a robust public health response to the pandemic, community engagement and risk communication, and strengthening existing digital technology‐based pandemic data, surveillance and monitoring systems.
“The World Bank has made available US$104 million to support Nepal’s immediate health response to the pandemic, including the procurement of life-saving COVID-19 vaccines, and strengthening the country’s health systems and preparedness,” stated Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
“We are committed to supporting Nepal and Nepalis during this crisis, and by joining forces with the government and development partners, we have been able to have more impact.”
Source : TRN,
