Improving Newborn and Pediatric Quality of Care by Strengthening Access to Safe Use of Oxygen

Oxygen is a life-saving medicine for the treatment of respiratory conditions, including in newborns and children. For example, in 2019, an estimated 7 million children under the age of five were admitted to hospitals in low- and middle-income countries with pneumonia with signs of hypoxemia (lack of oxygen in the blood). However, too often children cannot receive the oxygen treatment they need. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the massive oxygen gap in many low- and middle-income countries, resulting in unprecedented investments in oxygen systems. These case studies demonstrate how UNICEF Bangladesh, Liberia, Kenya and Nepal supported governments to ensure COVID-19 investments led to improved access to oxygen for newborns and children.