Early in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, our team’s focus was to shore up hospital capacity to provide critical lifesaving measures, chief among them the provision of medical grade oxygen to patients in respiratory distress from SARS-CoV-2. After a brief assessment, we concluded the country had critical shortage of oxygen.
We sought to improve the country’s oxygen capacity in two ways: 1) Raise funds and deliver oxygen concentrators and cylinders through our own logistics plan and 2) Raise awareness and alert stakeholders, including the government and philanthropist, about the critical gap in oxygen supply across the country. These efforts have paid major dividends; the hospital-grade oxygen generation and delivery capacity across all regions of Somaliland have improved dramatically. This development impacts and will continue to impact healthcare beyond the SARS-CoV-2 crisis.
