Press Release

WHO, with USAID support, delivers 250 oxygen concentrators to Belarus

18 September 2020

  • The Country Office of the World Health Organization in Belarus handed over 250 oxygen concentrators purchased and delivered with the financial support of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Belarusian healthcare system.

It is planned that the delivered oxygen concentrators of the leading world manufacturer will be used as part of the national reserve during the second wave of COVID-19 expected in autumn or winter and are to be distributed by the Republican Centre for Medical Response Organization to the medical facilities of the country, where supplemental oxygen support of the patients will be most needed. 

The World Health Organization, in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), supplied 250 oxygen concentrators to Belarus
Caption: The World Health Organization, in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), supplied 250 oxygen concentrators to Belarus
Photo: © WHO in Belarus

The purchased oxygen concentrators fully meet all the requirements of the World Health Organization.  This equipment for oxygen therapy is vital for the patients with moderate and severe cases of COVID-19 with low oxygen saturation levels caused by coronavirus infection. The operating principle of the concentrator involves generation of oxygen from ambient air and its delivery to a patient via the rhinal catheters.  Oxygen concentrators are completely autonomous and constitute an important source of oxygen for the patients with the reduced blood oxygen level. The concentrators are fitted with a bacteria-excluding filter, its generation capacity is 8 litres per minute and oxygen concentration in the mixture is over 90%.  They can also be used for two patients simultaneously.

The equipment for the total amount of 211,000 US dollars was delivered under the Support of WHO preparedness and response in fighting the COVID-10 pandemic project financed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

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