Oxygen is critical in a medical environment for a variety of patients—from those going through surgical procedures to patients with pneumonia or other respiratory issues, chronic lung conditions, and infections like sepsis or malaria. The problem is, there's just not enough of it at the moment. That's per a new report by an expert panel that found a "very urgent" need for such oxygen therapy, noting that more than 370 million people around the globe require oxygen as part of their medical treatment, per the New York Times.
The report published this week in the Lancet Global Health journal notes that fewer than one in three people who need medical oxygen receive it due to this "invisible" shortage. All together, upward of 5 billion people, or about three-fifths of the world's population, don't have access to safe, affordable oxygen, per a release. That access is especially limited in poorer countries, and experts are worried that another illness like the coronavirus could be devastating. "We know that there's more epidemics coming, and there'll be another pandemic, probably like COVID, within the next 15 to 20 years," Hamish Graham, a co-lead author of the study, tells the Times.
Graham notes that during COVID's peak, much attention was placed on equipment that could produce oxygen, but not enough on "supporting systems and people required to ensure it was distributed, maintained, and used safely and effectively." So what's needed to shore up the world's oxygen supplies? About $6.8 billion, the report notes. "Within the current climate, that's obviously going to become a bit more of a challenge," Carina King, a study co-lead author, tells the Times. Still, it's a necessary investment, she notes.
story continues below
"We're not pitting oxygen against other priorities, but rather [saying] that it should be embedded within all of those programs and within those priorities," King adds. "It's completely fundamental to a functioning health system." Graham notes in the release that funds could be funneled into national oxygen plans, especially response planning, and into buying up such supplementary supplies as pulse oximeters, a device that measures oxygen in the blood. More here, including how one African nation has stayed at the forefront of improving oxygen access. (More oxygen stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
