The private sector led by the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) on Thursday handed over the first consignment of 21-tonne tanks of oxygen to the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
The first consignment was financed by Namdeb at a cost of N.dollars 400 000 through an initiative by the private sector aimed at tackling the current shortage of medical oxygen in efforts to restore supply of critical oxygen for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in State health facilities.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, NCCI president, Bisey Uirab said the private sector has committed itself to continue the same supply of 21-tonne tanks of oxygen every week up to the end of September 2021.
“The turnaround time for each truck carrying oxygen containers is expected to be one week, meaning that the consortium of suppliers will be in a position to provide additional trucks on a weekly cycle,” he said.
Uirab further said the current medical oxygen shortage in the country is between 150 and 180 tonnes per month, which is over and above the capacity being provided by the current supplier. He added they have cooperated with other key players to work out a strategy on how they can ensure that this shortage of oxygen is eliminated and that the oxygen is delivered and distributed to the hospitals and health facilities where it is needed the most in the fastest turnaround time.
Concluding, Uirab called upon other businesses to join their initiative “to mount a coordinated assistance to the government”.
Accepting the donation, Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula lauded NCCI and its partners for their aid to government, saying the donation will go a long way to supplement the oxygen available to the country’s health facilities.
He said in recent weeks, high demand for oxygen has been reported across the country in both the private and the public sectors. He added that with the pressure now relieved from the existing hospital oxygen generating system, it is now able to provide the required purity of above 93 per cent to the Katutura State Hospital.
Source: Namibia Press Agency
