Geneva – In a major step toward strengthening health system resilience and regional self-sufficiency across East and Southern Africa, Kenya and Tanzania are expanding their capacity to produce medical-grade liquid oxygen through new locally operated production facilities. Backed by Unitaid and with technical support from Nikkiso, a leading Japanese company, the initiative will establish three state-of-the-art liquid oxygen production facilities to be run by Kenyan and Tanzanian oxygen manufacturers – reinforcing health systems and building long-term sustainability.
This initiative is part of the East African Program on Oxygen Access (EAPOA), an ambitious effort spearheaded by Unitaid to address the significant oxygen access gap across the region. The program aims to expand medical oxygen production by 300% in East Africa and reduce oxygen prices by up to 27%, making it more affordable for health care systems across the region and enabling treatment of thousands of additional patients each month.
“Expanding local oxygen production is a crucial step toward ensuring no patient goes without this lifesaving resource,” said Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa, speaking at the Dar es Salaam groundbreaking ceremony in March 2025. “This investment enhances our ability to meet growing demand, making our supply more self-sufficient and reducing reliance on external sources. Now more than ever, building long-term capacity within our region is essential.”
Medical oxygen is a lifesaving essential medicine without substitute. It is used to treat a wide range of infectious diseases and chronic heart and lung conditions including pneumonia, COVID-19, advanced HIV infection, and severe forms of tuberculosis and malaria. Oxygen is also vital for maternal and newborn survival as well as surgery, emergency, and critical care. Yet, many parts of sub-Saharan Africa remain severely under-resourced, with some countries accessing less than 10% of the oxygen they need. By constructing liquid oxygen production facilities in East Africa that are locally owned and operated, Nikkiso is helping to deliver lifesaving solutions and close critical gaps in oxygen access across the region.
“By empowering regional manufacturers to operate and manage advanced liquid oxygen facilities, we are not only addressing an immediate health need but also creating a sustainable market that will increase regional self-reliance,” said Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “Together, with the governments of Kenya and Tanzania, partners like Nikkiso, and Kenyan and Tanzanian manufacturers, we are building a long-term solution that will save lives, strengthen local economies, and provide a model for scalable innovation in global health.”
In partnership with Unitaid, Nikkiso will coordinate with local producers and suppliers of oxygen to build liquid oxygen production facilities in key locations, including Mombasa and Nairobi in Kenya, and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. These facilities will be part of a regional network of liquid oxygen production facilities – known as air separation units – strategically positioned to ensure medical oxygen reaches underserved communities, dramatically enhance the supply of medical oxygen, and address critical needs. These facilities will not only supply their home countries but also neighboring nations, including Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia, making a significant regional impact.
“We are honored to partner with Unitaid and the Kenyan and Tanzanian producers on this groundbreaking initiative to address the critical oxygen gap in East Africa,” said Koichi Kato, Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer. “For many years, Nikkiso has been addressing the issue of improving global health by providing dialysis machines and other medical equipment around the world. With a new approach of medical oxygen production facilities, we are proud to play a role in addressing this important issue.”
Nikkiso’s selection for this initiative underscores the company’s ability to deliver scalable, efficient, and reliable oxygen manufacturing facilities. This achievement comes after a rigorous, competitive tendering process led by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), which evaluated leading companies from around the world.
The construction of these facilities is a significant step toward improving health care outcomes in East and Southern Africa and reflects the power of innovative public-private partnerships to enhance access to health care for people in low- and middle-income countries.
The Japanese version of this press release is available here in PDF format.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Understanding medical oxygen production
There are three ways to produce medical oxygen: oxygen concentrators, small, portable systems that sit by a patient’s bedside and produce oxygen for one person at a time, but can only offer low pressure oxygen flows of up to 15L per minute; PSA plants, very large, complex oxygen generators that require high amounts of electricity and pressure; and air separation units (ASU) that produce bulk liquid oxygen, which is stored in large tanks and then vaporized to gaseous medical grade oxygen and fed into a hospital system. Liquid oxygen produced by ASU plants is seen as “best-in-class” and is most commonly used in countries with robust health care facilities.
About Unitaid
Unitaid saves lives by making new health products affordable and available in low- and middle-income countries. Collaborating with partners, Unitaid identifies innovative treatments, tackles market barriers, and quickly delivers solutions to those in need. Since 2006, Unitaid has unlocked over 100 health products, addressing HIV, TB, malaria, women’s and children’s health, and pandemic preparedness. Every year, these products benefit more than 300 million people. Unitaid is a hosted partnership of the World Health Organization.
About Nikkiso
Since its establishment in 1953, Nikkiso has contributed to solving social issues by anticipating the changing times with industry-leading technologies and products in Japan and around the world. In the industrial business, Nikkiso has created new markets by developing products in the energy field, hemodialysis-related products in the medical business, and CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) aerostructures in the aerospace business.
Kyle Wilkinson
Communications officer
+41 79 445 17 45
wilkinsonk@unitaid.who.int
