Ghana

When UNICEF asked families around the world to share their experience with oxygen therapy treatment, many of them shared the same message — that their critically sick children could not breathe on their own and would not survive without oxygen.   Access to medical oxygen, which is critical for all age groups, is essential in increasing child…, Weak oxygen infrastructure amid a global pandemic , When you are gasping for breath, nothing else matters.   Millions of people worldwide found themselves in this situation during the COVID-19 pandemic, unable to breathe independently and desperately needing oxygen support to survive.      The speed and scale at which COVID-19 spread exposed glaring gaps in healthcare systems, infrastructure, and…, Limited oxygen production, data, and capacity creating unsustainable oxygen therapy systems , While working closely with governments worldwide, UNICEF identified several key challenges common in fragile health systems, which were preventing oxygen from reaching the most vulnerable. These challenges, which would need to be overcome to create sustainable health systems with reliable oxygen therapy and quality care included:  Limited oxygen…, From rapid responses to building sustainable oxygen systems   , Given the COVID-19 crisis and a dire need for oxygen globally, UNICEF rapidly expanded its capacity and supply portfolio to provide immediate support to countries for the pandemic response while strengthening oxygen systems and critical capacity for long-term impact, including for children.   UNICEF was able to build on experiences gained through…, 1.         Needs assessment and planning ,   UNICEF is supporting countries to systematically scale oxygen access, which includes using tools such as the Oxygen System Planning Tool (OSPT). OSTP helps countries assess, quantify, and cost oxygen supply needs at all levels: national, subnational, and health facility. This information helps countries prioritize urgent procurement and design…, Eyo Etim Okon, who lost his wife following childbirth, is a single father to twins, including Asher, pictured here, who relied on oxygen to keep him alive when he experienced respiratory distress. Nigeria: Baby Asher lost his mom soon after his birth, oxygen kept him breathing, Eyo Etim Okon, who lost his wife following childbirth, is a single father to twins, including Asher, pictured here, who relied on oxygen to keep him alive when he experienced respiratory distress. UNICEF Nigeria/2023 Eyo Etim Okon, who lost his wife following childbirth, is a single father to twins, including Asher, pictured here, who relied on…, 2.         Product delivery and improving access to medical oxygen in healthcare ,   To overcome some of the challenges in implementing complex oxygen equipment such as Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Plants to increase oxygen production capacity, UNICEF developed an innovative ‘Plant-in-a-box’ solution. The package includes everything needed to produce large volumes of medical grade oxygen, including a menu of PSA plant models…, child receiving oxygen therapy in Bangladesh Bangladesh: Increasing access to oxygen in more than 60 busiest health facilities across the nation, child receiving oxygen therapy in Bangladesh UNICEF Bangladesh/2022/Drik Sharmin Siddiki is the 27-year-old mother of three-year-old Fatima, who became extremely sick and had severe convulsions one night, along with a high fever.   “I lost all my rationale and panicked when my child fell sick and had trouble breathing. I took her in my arms and…, women holding babies in Cambodia Cambodia: In Preah Vihear province, an oxygen "Plant-in-a-box" is saving children's lives, Two-year-old Rothana is restless. He keeps running away from his bed at Preah Vihear's 16 Makara Provincial Referral Hospital to the small children's library on his ward, grabbing picture books.   His parents – Sreyhahk and Sounoun – are delighted at his energy. Just 24 hours ago, Rothana's temperature had soared over 40 degrees at home, and the…, 10-month-old Retag Omer receives oxygen for 22 days at the pediatric ward in El-Geneina Teaching Hospital. She has been admitted for 23 days as she suffers from heart failure. Sudan : Amid conflict, supplying oxygen continues to be a major challenge, 10-month-old Retag Omer receives oxygen for 22 days at the pediatric ward in El-Geneina Teaching Hospital. She has been admitted for 23 days as she suffers from heart failure. UNICEF/2023/UN0793160/Lau 10-month-old Retag Omer receives oxygen for 22 days at the pediatric ward in El-Geneina Teaching Hospital. She has been admitted for 23 days as she…, 3.        Capacity building,   Oxygen production, diagnostic and delivery equipment are crucial solutions to increase oxygen access — but trained workers are essential for optimal treatment and use of oxygen products.    With this context, UNICEF works with governments to establish standard guidelines for oxygen therapy and trained healthcare workers such as doctors, nurses,…, Health care staff providing oxygen to child in Pakistan Pakistan: Leveraging COVID-19 oxygen investments to save newborn lives in Punjab, Aqeel stood silently in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a Punjab hospital, unable to say much as he worried about his newborn baby. His newborn baby was having difficulty breathing, leaving Aqeel and other family members worried he might not survive. They rushed the baby to the hospital and hoped for a miracle.  “When we came to this hospital…, child receiving oxygen in Yemen Yemen: Empowering health workers in Aden through life support training, At the National Health Emergency Centre in Aden, Yemen, a group of health professionals huddles at the front of a classroom as a trainer shows them how to provide life support step by step.   "Time is of the essence," said Hisham Alauthali, a respiratory therapist demonstrating CPR, life support, and trauma life support techniques.   For Ahmed…, 4.         Innovations,   UNICEF is driving innovation based on the challenges we experience in the field and informed by country needs. These include:   Resilient oxygen concentrator: UNICEF has worked with manufacturers to co-create an improved, state-of-the-art oxygen concentrator that is designed to be durable and resilient to work in challenging settings. It…, Oxygen Plant in Uganda Uganda: Healthcare system breathes easier with UNICEF’s ‘plant-in-a-box’ innovation, When six-month-old Constance was coughing and had a rising fever and difficulty breathing, her parents immediately rushed her to the nearest hospital. There, doctors diagnosed her with pneumonia — the biggest infectious killer of children under the age of five, killing over 700 children globally every year.   For baby Constance, receiving…, 5.         Market transparency, Explore the  Oxygen Market Dashboard  that informs the decision-making for planning, procuring, as well as building durable, strategic and accessible oxygen supply chains.  Oxygen Market Dashboard Visit the Oxygen Market Dashboard . the impact, Reducing child mortality across the world , Every year, 5 million children die before their fifth birthday.   This is largely due to challenges these vulnerable children have in accessing oxygen therapy, which is not only needed to save the lives of children, but of pregnant mothers, elderly, and other vulnerable populations.   Oxygen is a critical treatment for many of the 30 million small…, Child receiving oxygen in Iraq Iraq: Two oxygen plants and trained medical staff are aiding save babies' lives, Child receiving oxygen in Iraq UNICEF/UN0835804/Ridha In Baghdad, 15-day-old Jana Husam received critical oxygen treatment alongside other medicines at an intensive special care newborn unit for babies. She was suffering from severe diarrhea.   Her family rushed her urgently to Al-Iskan Teaching Hospital, which hosts one of the two oxygen…, Ensuring sustainability and scalability of oxygen investments, COVID-19 has triggered unprecedented investments in oxygen systems which have ensured that the most vulnerable can access oxygen treatment when needed, saving countless lives.  To ensure these investments are sustained and further scaled, UNICEF will continue to provide support to governments to identify remaining gaps and needs to ensure…

In a world of fast-moving innovation trends, UNICEF has long maintained that the most reliable path to innovation – and perhaps, the biggest innovation itself – is the open-source approach. UNICEF co-founded the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA), a multi-stakeholder initiative aiming to accelerate the attainment of the Sustainable Development…

“We need a concerted global effort from Member States, the UN system, private sector, and others, to promote open source software, open data, open AI models, open standards, and open content that adhere to privacy, applicable laws, and do no harm. These have vast potential to help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”  United Nations…, Establishing the Pathfinder Countries, Starting in early 2020, selected countries eligible for receiving overseas development assistance (ODA) will help further evolve the digital public goods platform and alliance through initial implementation on the ground. This will provide both on the ground results through localization of existing digital public goods and the development of new…, DPG Pathfinder Countries

In the world of fast-changing innovation fads and attitudes, UNICEF has long maintained that the most reliable path to innovation - and perhaps the biggest innovation itself - is the open source approach. More than ten years ago, UNICEF established its innovation principles, one of which advocates to “Use Open Standards, Open Data, Open Source,…

Pneumonia treatment is surprisingly straightforward. Oxygen and antibiotics—both relatively cost-effective solutions—can cure most cases. But oxygen therapy isn’t available in many parts of the world. Governments face several challenges that make it difficult to get oxygen to those in need. In addition to procurement and delivery barriers, special…

Follow the author on Twitter @theentreflaneur Every Friday, a teenage girl stands in front of the national parliament, holding a cardboard sign in solitary protest for a safer, more equitable future. Gradually, more students join her in what they call a ‘school strike’ — and similar campaigns start emerging in other countries. Soon after, the…, Today's world is built on digital infrastructure that was not designed to ensure a safe, equitable future for all., While 3.5 billion people in the world do not have access to the internet, those connected, both to individual user platforms and digital governance systems, are subject to a network and solutions that are increasingly monopolized by Big Tech, limited in access, guarded against open and public innovation, mired in data surveillance and routinely…

The UNICEF Innovation Fund is proud to see portfolio member, Nubian VR, graduate. They’ve come a long way – from numerous product iterations to deep diving into understanding their ecosystem better, strengthening their business model, and gearing up to take their solution to market. They’re now ready to collaborate at a larger scale – as they find…

NubianVR is a virtual reality innovation company based in Accra, Ghana. We are on a mission to provide educators and learners the tools to deliver and receive education in VR. It is our goal to converge the best-practice in digital learning into virtual environments.   In Africa, not only is the vast numbers of young people that are out of school…

Pneumonia and diarrhoeal diseases are one of the major causes of death for children under five in Ghana. In  2015 alone, over 10,000 children under five in Ghana died from pneumonia and diarrhoeal diseases . Handwashing with soap and water (HWWS) is a proven intervention to reduce this rate. However, less than 1 in 8 Ghanaian households practice…

Challenges faced by children and their families have rapidly evolved due to urbanization, climate change, lack of employment opportunities, broken education systems, increased disparities, and digital divides. New problem-solving approaches are essential to address these challenges. In Ghana, as in many other countries, local innovative problem-…

In 2015 alone, over 10,000 children under five in Ghana died from pneumonia and diarrhoeal diseases ( WHO 2015 ). Therefore,  one year ago  we set out to develop a serious game that could teach children in Ghana about the importance of handwashing.  Handwashing with water and soap (HWWS) is proven to be the most cost effective health intervention…, Why use games to teach handwashing, and how to do it?, Evidence  on information campaigns to promote handwashing in other countries has shown that these interventions often lead to higher awareness in the short term but show limited longer term impact in terms of actual behaviour change. A  growing body of research  suggests that experiential learning through play can be effective in transferring…, The final product – a modular game embedded in local folklore and culture, The development was finalized in April 2016. ‘Handwashing with Ananse’ is now a three-chapter story and game experience centered on the popular Ghanaian folklore character Ananse. He often takes the form of a spider who likes to trick other people. In our game, Ananse has stolen all the knowledge about handwashing and hid it in his pockets. The…, All materials freely available to download, ready for roll-out, The facilitation materials have been made available for free under the Creative Commons 4.0 License. The colourful guidebook, also available as laminated facilitators’ guide from UNICEF Ghana, can be  downloaded here (PDF, 5 MB) . We are currently finalizing short tutorial videos and additional resources for facilitators which will be accessible…, An innovative evaluation to assess the game’s effectiveness, ‘Handwashing with Ananse’ will now be subject to a rigorous quasi-experimental evaluation. It will asses the effectiveness of the games in transferring knowledge and leading to increased handwashing behaviour in the medium term. More details will be provided in a separate blog post that describes the innovative sensor technology used in the…

Ghana’s last cholera outbreak started in June 2014 and continued through 2015. More than 30,000 people were infected, 250 died. Cholera is spread through germs from feces of infected people that get into unprotected water sources, then through contaminated food and drinking water. Dirty hands are one of the main transmission routes of Cholera, and…