Access to medical oxygen is a basic requirement of any healthcare system, yet more than half of the world’s population has no access to medical oxygen(1). Air Liquide has leveraged its expertise in medical gases to create Access Oxygen™, a social impact program to provide people in low-and middle-income countries with reliable and affordable access to medical oxygen. Already present in Senegal, South Africa, and Kenya, the program was introduced in Mali in 2024.
Access Oxygen™ is based on introducing solutions to supply medical oxygen that are tailored to the specific features of local healthcare systems. In the long run, the goal is to ensure that the solution is sustainable beyond Access Oxygen™’s intervention. In 2024, this program hit a significant milestone as it was deployed for the first time in Mali, where the oxygen therapy solution is being rolled out in 20 healthcare facilities in the Ségou and Kayes regions. The initiative was made possible thanks to the donation of oxygen concentrators by Airgas, Air Liquide’s U.S. subsidiary, to the Fédération Nationale des Associations de Santé Communautaire (National Federation of Community Health Associations), and to a collaboration with Malian health authorities and Mag Global Service, the local operator responsible for delivering the solution.
Besides providing access to medical oxygen, Access Oxygen™ aims to help build sustainable and lasting healthcare models to address crucial public health needs.
