473, 000 Children Die in Africa Yearly- Group Reveals

By Intisaab Abu Monor

The BKANK Group, a leading bio-engineering firm dedicated to strengthening Africa’s medical oxygen ecosystem, has called for the establishment of Regional Critical Health Infrastructure, an Integrated Large-Scale Oxygen Production Plant based in Ghana, with distribution hubs across West Africa.

This initiative is part of BKANK Group’s ongoing efforts to ensure equitable, affordable, reliable, and sustainable access to medical oxygen across Sub-Saharan Africa. By anchoring large-scale production in Ghana and creating regional distribution networks, the Group aims to improve healthcare resilience, support emergency response systems, and save lives through consistent oxygen availability.

Launching its Advocacy Brief on Strengthening Access to Medical Oxygen in West Africa, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Eng. Kofi Owusu Asamoah emphasized that despite its essential role in modern medicine, medical oxygen remains inaccessible to millions of patients across the region.
The initiative, he explained, seeks to promote innovation, sustainability, and policy reform to make oxygen readily available at all levels of healthcare.

A Silent Crisis

According to Eng. Asamoah, medical oxygen is indispensable for life-saving care, from surgical operations and childbirth emergencies to neonatal intensive care and emergency transport. “Yet, according to the Acting Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HEFRA), Winifred Baah, nearly 84% of health facilities in Ghana do not have functional oxygen cylinders or concentrators.”

Eng. Asamoah revealed that globally, pneumonia alone accounted for 1.4 million deaths in 2010 and 3.0 million deaths in 2016, ranking as the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.
In Africa, he continued pneumonia was responsible for the deaths of 473,000 children under five in 2015, with Sub-Saharan Africa bearing 43% of global pneumonia deaths. Studies suggest that 20–40% of these deaths could have been prevented with timely access to oxygen therapy.

The BKANK Group’s brief paints an alarming picture of regional mortality rates.
In Ghana, he said respiratory diseases contributed to 15.5% of institutional deaths in 2020, and among children under five, the figure rose to 16.5%. Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Health reports that lower respiratory infections account for one in seven deaths, while Togo recorded 5,739 pneumonia-related deaths in 2020, representing 11.56% of all deaths nationwide.

The Challenge

The Group has identified four critical barriers that continue to undermine the availability and reliability of medical oxygen across West Africa:

 Inconsistent or non-existent supply in many hospitals and clinics, particularly in rural and secondary health facilities.

 High dependence on imported oxygen cylinders and concentrators, resulting in high costs and frequent stockouts.

 Limited technical capacity for equipment maintenance, calibration, and quality control, leading to frequent system breakdowns.

 Absence of robust national legislation recognizing and regulating medical oxygen as an essential medicine within national health policies and supply chains.

These weaknesses, it said, have led to frequent shortages, inflated costs, and preventable deaths, especially in rural and under-resourced facilities.

A Strategic Response: Regional Oxygen Hubs

To combat this crisis, BKANK Group is proposing the establishment of Regional Medical Oxygen Hubs, designed to improve production, distribution, and data-driven management of oxygen supply systems across ECOWAS/WAHO Member States.

The initiative aims to deliver a sustainable, scalable, and resilient regional oxygen ecosystem through the following objectives:

• Boost regional production capacity: Establish a large-scale Medical Oxygen Production Plant anchored in Ghana, serving ECOWAS/WAHO Member States through an Air Separation Unit (ASU), regional Vacuum Insulated Evaporator (VIE) backup systems, and high-pressure medical oxygen cylinder filling banks to reduce reliance on imports.

• Develop a coordinated distribution network: Create a tiered delivery system encompassing central cylinder filling banks, zonal refilling stations, and optimized logistics to ensure 24-hour oxygen availability across facilities.

• Build technical and clinical capacity: Train biomedical engineers, technicians, and healthcare providers in oxygen system maintenance, safety protocols, and clinical best practices.

• Enable data-driven management: Deploy a centralized digital platform to forecast oxygen demand, manage inventory, and monitor real-time performance indicators across the subregion.

• Strengthen health system resilience: Integrate oxygen production and supply systems into national and regional emergency preparedness frameworks, enhancing the region’s ability to respond to health crises and future pandemics.

According to the advocacy document, these hubs would not only address existing shortages but also improve routine and emergency healthcare outcomes across West Africa.

Innovation, Sustainability, and Legal Recognition

The BKANK Group’s advocacy framework is built on three strategic pillars: innovation, sustainability, and policy reform.

Under the innovation pillar, the Group is championing the deployment of locally appropriate oxygen technologies, including solar-powered concentrators, modular oxygen generation plants, and a large-scale medical oxygen production facility anchored in Ghana to serve ECOWAS/WAHO Member States. This approach not only enhances regional self-sufficiency but also supports local manufacturing and innovation ecosystems, driving long-term affordability, accessibility, and technological resilience across West Africa.

For sustainability, the focus is on strengthening maintenance and quality assurance systems and embedding oxygen infrastructure into national health and emergency preparedness plans. This, they argue, will ensure long-term reliability beyond donor interventions.

On policy, the Group is urging governments to recognize medical oxygen as an essential drug, aligning with World Health Organization (WHO) standards, and to integrate oxygen provision into national essential medicines lists, health budgets, and procurement frameworks.

Call to Action

The advocacy brief issues a clarion call to all stakeholders:

 Governments and policymakers are urged to adopt and enforce legal recognition of medical oxygen and provide sustainable funding.

 Donors and development partners are encouraged to invest in infrastructure, capacity building, and local oxygen production.

 Public health organizations should promote regional collaboration and integrate oxygen access into universal health coverage goals.

 Healthcare professionals and civil society are called upon to champion equitable access and accountability within communities and facilities.

Expected Impact

If implemented, the Regional Medical Oxygen Hub strategy is projected to:

 Significantly reduce preventable deaths from respiratory and surgical conditions.

 Guarantee reliable and affordable oxygen access across all healthcare levels.

 Strengthen regional health systems resilience against future pandemics and health emergencies.

A Moral and Public Health Imperative

“Recognizing medical oxygen as a life-saving drug and ensuring its availability is not just a policy goal, rather it’s a moral imperative,” the BKANK Group stated. “Every life lost due to lack of oxygen is a preventable tragedy.”

As West Africa continues to confront high rates of respiratory-related deaths, the Group’s advocacy represents a pivotal step toward transforming healthcare delivery – one cylinder, one hub, and one breath at a time

Statistics on Oxygen Access in West Africa

 84% of Ghanaian health facilities lack functional oxygen cylinders or concentrators. Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HEFRA, 2025).

 3 million global deaths were attributed to pneumonia in 2016, making it the 4th leading cause of death worldwide.

 473,000 African children under five died of pneumonia in 2015.

 43% of global pneumonia deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 In Ghana, respiratory diseases accounted for 15.5% of all institutional deaths in 2020; among children under five, 16.5% died from such illnesses.

 5,000 pneumonia-related deaths annually are recorded among Ghanaian children under five. It’s the third leading cause of death in this age group.

 In Burkina Faso, lower respiratory infections account for 1 in 7 deaths, while in Togo, 5,739 pneumonia-related deaths in 2020 represented 11.56% of all national deaths.

 Experts estimate that 20–40% of these deaths could be prevented with timely and equitable access to medical oxygen therapy.