JOINT STATEMENT
G7 LEADERS MUST PROVIDE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT TO
AVERT MORE COVID-19 OXYGEN SHORTAGES AND
RELATED DEATHS
5 May 2021
The Every Breath Counts Coalition and the Access to Medicine Foundation call on G7 leaders to take immediate
action to ensure that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have the medical oxygen and other medicines theyneed to treat all patients during the pandemic.
G7 leaders should engage directly with the major medical gas, oxygen plant and concentrator companies to ramp
up supply; to invest in the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) Oxygen Emergency Taskforce1 toincrease the support international health and development agencies can provide; and to open up an “oxygendialogue” with political leaders in the worst-affected LMICs to prevent a repeat of the tragedy that has occurred inIndia.
The need for medical oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients across all LMICs has tripled in the last month and has now
reached a massive 28.3 million cubic meters per day, the equivalent of 4 million large cylinders. The annual cost ofmeeting this need is estimated at $US6.5 billion.2Without adequate supplies of medical oxygen, COVID-19 case fatality rates will remain high as currently oxygen is
one of the only treatments available for COVID-19 patients in LMICs and vaccine rollout is slow. To date, only five
LMICs (Bhutan, Maldives, Serbia, Mongolia, and Dominica) have managed to protect more than 20% of their
populations with one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.3
The G7 is well-positioned to engage with the leading medical gas companies as they are headquartered in G7countries, including Air Liquide (France), Messer Group (Germany), SOL Group (Italy), Taiyo Nippon Sanso
Corporation (Japan), Linde Group (United Kingdom), and Air Products (USA). G7 engagement with all of the major
medical gas companies can ensure coordinated action to help end the oxygen crisis in India and prevent others.
G7 countries should also invest in the ACT-A Oxygen Emergency Taskforce so that international global health anddevelopment agencies can strengthen the support they are providing to LMIC governments. Co-led by Unitaid andthe Wellcome Trust, and part of the ACT-A therapeutics pillar, the Taskforce is currently providing oxygen andmedicines to support countries. But much more is needed as COVID-19 cases rapidly rise and the imperative torespond quickly becomes more critical.

1 Taskforce members include Unitaid, Wellcome Trust, WHO,* UNICEF, Global Fund, World Bank, UNOPS, Save the Children, Every

Breath Counts, CHAI, and PATH, as well *including WHO Biomedical Procurement Consortium members ALIMA, BMGF, IMC, MSF,UNDP, UNHCR, UNOPS, USAID, and WFP.
2 See the COVID-19 Oxygen Needs Tracker by PATH, CHAI, and Every Breath Counts, 4 May, 2021.
3 See Our World in Data, 4 May 2021.

An initial immediate injection of $US200 million from the G7 for an ACT-A Emergency Oxygen Fund would enable
the ACT-A to respond quickly (within days) to LMIC requests to alleviate imminent medical oxygen shortages andrelated deaths. An emergency fund must have the flexibility to procure bulk liquid oxygen, oxygen plants, cylinders,concentrators, and related technologies and support governments to supply trained healthcare workers andbiomedical engineers to use and maintain the equipment safely. There are many countries now at risk of oxygenshortages who may require this type of fast support in the coming weeks (see table below).
It is also vital that G7 leaders communicate directly with the LMIC government leaders at risk of oxygen shortages,
to monitor the situation daily, have clear sight on country needs, and mobilize quickly to prevent the shortages thathave caused so many deaths in India. India has shown us how critical it is that health and finance ministers in these
at-risk countries have a direct line to international support before a crisis emerges.
Greater G7 investments in medical oxygen will continue to save lives beyond the pandemic, especially amongnewborns, children, women in childbirth, and adults with communicable and/or non-communicable diseases. This
would significantly increase the impact of G7 leadership and investments in global health. Medical oxygen is truly an
investment that will strengthen all health systems and prepare countries for future respiratory pandemics, which areexpected to occur.

Signees:
The Every Breath Counts Coalition and the Access to Medicine Foundation, with Aga Khan University,
Amnesty International, Association of Support and Information to Relatives and Patients with Pneumonia(NEUMOAI), Cintia Oliviera Dantas, Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW), Emergence Creative,
Global Alliance for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anaesthesia Care (G4 Alliance), Global Fund
Advocates Network (GFAN), Global Minnesota, International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases,
Gradian Health Systems, Lifebox, Malaria Consortium, Masimo, MGPS Acuitas, Murdoch Children’s
Research Institute, 19 to Zero, Pandemic Action Network, Panorama, PATH, Right to Health Action, Sabin
Vaccine Institute, Save the Children, Union des Amis Socio Culturels d'Action en Développement(UNASCAD), University of Auckland, Village Reach.

Contacts:
Leith Greenslade, Coordinator, Every Breath Counts Coalition. The Every Breath Counts is a coalition of 50 United Nations andmultilateral health and development agencies, companies, foundations, non-government organizations (NGOs), and academic
institutions supporting low- and middle-income countries to reduce deaths from pneumonia, including from COVID-19. Emailleith@justactions.org.
Jayasree Iyer, Executive Director, Access to Medicine Foundation. The Access to Medicine Foundation is an independent
organization that incentivizes the pharmaceutical industry to ramp up access to medicine gaps in low and middle income countries
by using a multi-stakeholder consensus model. The Foundation defines key roles for the companies and tracks progress onopportunities for action on 82 diseases, including pandemics. Email jiyer@accesstomedicinefoundation.org.

COVID-19
OXYGEN“Hotspots”

COVID-19 Oxygen Need(cubic meters per day)

COVID-19
Vaccination(% population
one dose)India

16,148,433

9.25%

Brazil2,686,272

TurkeyOXYGEN “Hotspots”

COVID-19 Oxygen Need(cubic meters per day)

COVID-19
Vaccination(% populationone dose)

Palestine

50,9293.33%

14.05%

Guatemala49,5420.95%

1,841,098

16.52%

Ethiopia

48,516

NA

Argentina

1,002,480

15.6%

Cuba

48,324

NAIran942,661

1.02%

Egypt

44,0930.64%

Colombia782,227

6.79%

Kenya

26,793

1.59%

Ukraine407,219

1.73%

Armenia

25,3350.02%

Philippines

380,916

1.54%

Cambodia

24,780

8.77%

Peru

341,397

3.43%

Uzbekistan

16,579

1.79%

Iraq

305,3450.74%

Madagascar

15,788

NAPakistan

233,181

0.95%

Kyrgyzstan

14,146

0.41%

Nepal

188,499

7.18%

Cabo Verde

12,770

0.39%

Malaysia

133,981

2.83%

Angola

8,615

1.39%

Bangladesh

128,767

3.53%

Afghanistan

7,964

0.62%

Kazakhstan

116,954

6.89%

Syria

5,442

0.01%

Paraguay

104,514

1.3%

Guyana5,284

15.76%

Thailand

88,128

1.58%

PNG

3,841

0.03%

Ecuador

87,891

4.49%

Timor Leste

3,640

0.02%

Tunisia

81,333

2.58%

LaoPDR

3,328

1.73%

Costa Rica

72,544

10.57%

Suriname

2,841

6.81%

Azerbaijan

62,831

9.62%

Mali

2,448

0.25%

Georgia

55,513

1.14%

Somalia

2,335

0.74%

Sri Lanka

54,715

4.33%

Guinea

2,379

0.73%

Venezuela

54,657

0.88%

CAR1,752

NAMongolia

52,83831.65%

Yemen

1,584

NA

Updated 4 May 2021
Sources: PATH/CHAI/Every Breath Counts COVID-19 Oxygen Needs Tracker and Our World in Data
Vaccination