EpiC project rapidly mobilizes to deliver oxygen to facilities in dire need in Haiti

The initiative was prompted by a critical shortage of medical liquid oxygen, an essential medicine to treat people with severe COVID-19. Facilities across the country faced major constraints in oxygen supply due to fuel shortages, a blockaded port, civil unrest and curfews, supply chain issues, and oxygen generators in need of repair. The EpiC project, in collaboration with the USAID Mission, the Ministry of Health, health facilities, and a local supplier, Industrial Dynamics, worked to procure and deliver liquid oxygen to facilities in Port-au-Prince and across the South of Haiti. The project successfully arranged the purchase and importation of liquid oxygen into the capital, as well as transportation to facilities, all within a span of three weeks. This effort was the result of collaboration and coordination between various stakeholders. The EpiC project partnered with Industrial Dynamics to quickly explore options for importing oxygen into the country. Together, the partners identified a Dominican Republic-based vendor that was able to deliver a tank of liquid oxygen that met the requisite technical specifications and quality control measures. After import, EpiC purchased the entire tank, which held enough oxygen to fill almost 1,700 "H" cylinders. The project also arranged for the transportation of empty cylinders from several locations across the south, including the South-East, to be filled with oxygen at Industrial Dynamics' warehouse. The filled cylinders were then returned to three locations in the south. Additionally, EpiC arranged for two facilities based in Port-au-Prince to fill their empty cylinders at the Industrial Dynamics warehouse. One of those facilities, Hospital St. Luc in Port-au-Prince, had run out of oxygen to treat severe COVID-19 cases, and staff were left trying to keep patients alive. The EpiC project will continue to work on a longer-term solution to oxygen shortages by strengthening the oxygen ecosystem, building local capacity for oxygen production, and training technicians on maintenance of oxygen-producing plants.