This year’s World Pneumonia Day is a critical time to reflect on how to stop children dying from pneumonia. The notorious virus of 2020, COVID-19, when severe, can lead to pneumonia where lungs become inflamed and filled with liquid, making it difficult, if not impossible to breathe. But pneumonia isn’t a new emergency; it takes the lives of 800,000 children each year, almost all of which are preventable.  

With high rates of childhood pneumonia and COVID-19 spreading worldwide, health facilities are faced with the dire risk of not having an adequate supply of oxygen. Every year, 4.2 million children suffering from severe pneumonia in low and middle-income countries urgently need medical oxygen to survive. This life-saving gas helps patients breathe when they cannot do so on their own – whether it be children with pneumonia or hypoxemia, newborns and mothers with birth complications, or patients with severe COVID-19.  

Unfortunately, medical oxygen is seldom available for many people whose lives are at risk. This complex commodity can be challenging to provide, especially in rural settings where electricity, infrastructure and essential health equipment may be in short supply.

A key part of UNICEF COVID-19 response has been delivering oxygen concentrators, devices that take in air from the environment, remove nitrogen, and produce a continuous source of oxygen. As of 11 November 2020, UNICEF delivered 15,188 oxygen concentrators to 93 countries.  

But the response isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Some settings may have oxygen plants and cylinder-delivery networks available, others may not. Some may have a reliable source of electricity available to use a concentrator, others may not. And some may have import restrictions for certain health supplies while others face challenges with dwindling health budgets and rising prices from oxygen suppliers.    

UNICEF is working with governments and partners to find the best solutions for each unique country context, which in most cases involves a mix of oxygen sources from cylinders, concentrators, plants and liquid oxygen. 

The response has truly been global, rapid, and multi-faceted. UNICEF is supplying medical oxygen to over 90 countries to help fight COVID-19 and keep children and newborns with pneumonia alive.  

In Peru, UNICEF is providing oxygen concentrators to help indigenous communities

In Bangladesh, UNICEF is expanding oxygen systems to prevent new-born deaths  

In Sierra Leone, UNICEF is investing in refurbishing and installing oxygen plants

Through pneumonia-focused initiatives, UNICEF had the groundwork in place before the pandemic, which has enabled the organization to expand its oxygen response during the pandemic. For example:

Through such initiatives supported by the La Caixa Foundation (ARIDA), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (oxygen therapy), and UNICEF internal resources (SPRINT), UNICEF is uniquely positioned to propel an extensive global oxygen response to meet both the imminent need caused by COVID-19, and moreover, to address the 800,000 children’s lives that pneumonia takes every year.    

On this World Pneumonia day, UNICEF is asking governments, donors and partners to amplify efforts to bring life to those fighting for breath.  

Oxygen is an answer. The commodity is complex, but solutions are out there - whether it be installing or refurbishing PSA plants, providing liquid oxygen or distributing oxygen concentrators. And the world has started bracing for change. Over the past year, governments, donors, UN agencies and partners have begun to recognize the importance of this essential medicine in helping people recover from pneumonia, whether COVID-19-induced or not.  

Just this year, in addition to the 15,188 oxygen concentrators, UNICEF alone has distributed over 19,600 oxygen accessories (like pulse oximeters, flow splitters, oxygen analyzers and humidifier bottles) and 578,000 consumables (like nasal cannula, face masks and tubing) to 93 countries. In addition, UNICEF country offices have supported many governments to initiate plans to install and/or refurbish PSA plants or provide liquid oxygen to further bolster oxygen scale-up efforts.  

And this is only the beginning.  

The momentum is strong. The time is now. Let’s continue our efforts to invest in oxygen and combat pneumonia.  

UNICEF is supporting countries to provide oxygen therapy and monitoring equipment, while building a sustainable approach for treating respiratory illnesses.

Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, UNICEF has been delivering life-saving health supplies to help countries in their response to the pandemic.

Because of our global footprint, our close links with governments, and our strong convening power, UNICEF is in a unique position to take good innovations

Health technologies help us deliver safe, timely and effective care for children and mothers.