Mukwano Industries donates oxygen cylinders to city hospitals to boost supply as demand outpaces manufacturing capacity.
A Covid patient takes anywhere between 20 to 70 litres of oxygen per day, depending on whether the condition is mild, severe or critical, giving an average oxygen consumption of 45 litres per patient. The daily oxygen demand by the 950 Covid patients that the government says are in admission countrywide, grosses 62 million litres against roughly 28 million oxygen production by private suppliers, leaving about 34 million litres deficit.
Drake Nyamugabwa
Through the company’s social responsibility drive to assist communities in the response to COVID-19 surge, Mukwano Industries have donated over twenty oxygen cylinders to city hospital including Kibuli hospital and Ggwatiroo hospital in Namanve to boost the supply of oxygen to patients.
While receiving the donation at Kibuli Hospital, the Hospital Administrator, Hajj Mbulambago Siraj said that the demand for oxygen by COVID-19 patients t the facility is higher compared to the availability of oxygen at the hospital.
He applauded the efforts of Mukwano Industries which he said will boost the oxygen supply while urging manufacturing companies to increase the cylinders.
“Cylinders are more critical. If you have a significant number, it boosts supply to patients. Now with this additional we have a total of 68 cylinders” he said Uganda hospitals had run short of oxygen amid spike in COVID-19 cases last month as demand of oxygen by COVID-19 patients’ outpaced manufacturing capacity.
In his remarks as he handed over the cylinders to Kibuli hospital, Dr Gilbert Ayesiga from mukwano Industries said that they have donated over 20 new cylinders to Kibuli hospital and Gwatiroo hospital in Namanve to enhance the company’s ongoing corporate social responsibility to assist communities they operate in to respond to the corona pandemic fight.
“Mukwano has handed to city hospitals over twenty oxygen gas cylinders - Kibuli Muslim Hospital & Ggwatiroo Hospital, Namanve. The donation enhances our ongoing corporate social responsibility drive assist the communities within which we work, to combat the deadly Corona virus.” he said
According to the health officials, a Covid patient takes anywhere between 20 to 70 litres of oxygen per day, depending on whether the condition is mild, severe or critical, giving an average oxygen consumption of 45 litres per patient.
When computed, it means the daily oxygen demand by the 950 Covid patients that the government says are in admission countrywide, grosses 62 million litres against roughly 28 million oxygen production by private suppliers, leaving about 34 million litres deficit.
In June 2021 the Uganda’s military through the National Enterprises Corp., a unit of the army, begun output at its Luwero Industries Ltd unit producing medical oxygen to bridge supplies in hospitals facing rising cases of Covid-19 and citing a shortage of oxygen in hospitals.
