Health Ministry to install oxygen plant at Entebbe in next two months.

By Ben Musanje

5^th July 2021

The Ministry of Health has promised to install an oxygen plant at Entebbe National Isolation Centre by September this year.

Eng. George Otim, the commissioner of health infrastructure at the health ministry, says the plant will be expected to generate at least 300 cylinders of oxygen a day.

The plant will be installed at the isolation centre located in Manyago, about 2km from Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital.

Eng. Otim says that the new plant will supply oxygen to the isolation centre, Entebbe hospital, Kajjansi health centre IV and other facilities within the region.

While the ministry installed an oxygen plant at Entebbe Hospital at the end of last year, which can only generate a maximum of 35 cylinders a day according to Dr. Otim and any opportunity for a new one will be a sign of relief because hospitals have to spend at least shillings 35,000 to shillings 45,000 to refill an oxygen cylinder in private oxygen plants.

Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the spokesperson at the health ministry however says the installation of the oxygen plant depends on how the available funds will be allocated.

Though he does not disclose how much the project could cost, some of the oxygen plants installed have cost over shillings 900million. These plants include the seven that reportedly cost a total of shillings 6.4bilion. Four were installed at Mulago hospital, one at Entebbe and another at Kayunga General Hospital last year. Last month, the Global Fund gave Uganda shillings 25 billion to install 7 regional oxygen plants including one in Kampala to supply the Greater Metropolitan Area.